The son of the first British officer to liberate Bergen-Belsen recently met a Holocaust survivor after he saw her featured in a television documentary.

John Wood, 60, is the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Berney, who was the first officer to enter the Nazi Germany camp in 1945, where around 60,000 prisoners were discovered.

Mr Wood, who lives in East Grinstead, West Sussex, was watching the BBC documentary Belsen: Our Story earlier this year, a show in which survivors of the Holocaust share their heart-wrenching but remarkable stories from the Second World War.

One of those survivors featured in the show was Mala Tribich, 89, who lives in Whetstone.

Poland-born Mrs Tribich lost nearly all of her close family during the Holocaust, except her brother Ben.

Mrs Tribich, who was extremely ill at the time, was rescued from Bergen-Belsen by the British army and brought to England where she had her own family.

After watching the BBC show, Mr Wood decided to write to Mrs Tribich and she replied a couple of days later inviting him to her home.

The pair arranged for Mr Wood to travel to Whetstone where they enjoyed lunch at Mrs Tribich's home.

Mr Wood said: "It was lovely. She was so sweet and kind. We spoke about my dad and how much the liberation had affected him.

"We spoke about the Holocaust and the liberation. Mala didn't remember too much about that because she was really ill at the time.

"We spoke for hours - I am so pleased I met her."

The pair posed for a picture too as a momento for the visit.

Mr Wood will be travelling to Bergen-Belsen for the 75th anniversary.

His father Leonard, who published a book Liberating Belsen Concentration Camp - A Personal Account died four years ago from ill health.

Mr Wood gave Mrs Tribich a copy of his father's book.