IT WAS one of the bloodiest engagements of the Second World War. Battle-hardened Geordies found themselves pitted unexpectedly against a band of crack German paratroopers in a three-day battle for a vital bridge.

About 500 men of the famous 151 (Durham) Brigade perished, about 300 Germans also died and the remainder were taken prisoner at what became known in military annals as Stink Alley.

The capture of the Primasole Bridge, crossing the River Lentini near Catania, in July 1943, was critical to the Allied advance in Sicily.

Last night, two veterans spoke of their memories as they prepared to return to the battlefield to rededicate a war memorial to their fallen comrades.

Dick Atkinson, 87, of Whitley Bay, who fought from Dunkirk to the Battle for Berlin, said: "It was the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting I have seen.

"The Germans had just thrown in a crack paratroop division which had flown in from the Russia the day before.

"No one knew they were there and we never realised what we were up against.

"We charged across the bridge and thought we were up against the Italians, and that it would be a walkover. But there was a sunken road, which no one knew about, where the Germans were dug in. They opened fire with machine guns and cut us to ribbons."

The attack began at 7.30am and only a few platoons were able to cross the river. Many drowned in the crossing and scores were shot.

The battalion's precarious hold was broken during the three-day assault and the men were driven back leaving their dead and wounded behind them.

Mr Atkinson said: "The sunken road became known as Stink Alley, as there were so many dead soldiers there."

Harry Lidster, 87, of Tanfield, Stanley said: "We carried on with our duty... with what we were asked to do."

Members of the Durham Light Infantry Association will fly to Catania tomorrow for a rededication service of the rebuilt DLI Memorial.

They will visit the CWGC cemetery, where their comrades were buried after the battle, and will place DLI wreaths in their memory.

Major Chris Lawton, assistant regimental secretary of the Rifles office in Durham, said VIP's and dignitaries from the British Embassy in Rome, and their opposite numbers in Sicily, would also attend the service, together with retired Signor Francesco Gueli, who has arranged over the past two years, on behalf of the DLI, to have the deteriorating memorial relocated and rebuilt.

* Donations or contributions towards the rededication and rebuilding of the Primosole Bridge Memorial can be sent to DLI Central Bank The Rifles Office Durham, Elvet Waterside, Durham DH1 3BW or to the Former DLI, Charities Number 227007.