TWO major Second World War battles will be remembered on Teesside this weekend.

A parade at Stockton tomorrow will commemorate the anniversaries of the Battle of Britain, in 1940, and the Battle of Arnhem, in 1944.

Middlesbrough will also mark Battle of Britain Sunday with a parade organised by a group of residents.

The Middlesbrough Military Celebratory Association (MMCA) was created to help remember those who lost their lives.

The decision to form a group dates from the failure to organise a Battle of Britain parade in Middlesbrough in 2001.

Association spokeswoman Liz Chambers, chairwoman of the town's TS Marlborough Sea Cadets, said: "The men we are remembering this weekend gave their lives, without which sacrifice we would not be able to enjoy the freedoms we do today.

"If we did not remember them and what they did for us, it would be a sad day for the country."

Tom Booth, the president of the Stockton and Thornaby branch of the Royal Air Forces Association, said: "Members felt it appropriate this year to also remember the bravery of the soldiers and airmen at the Battle of Arnhem 60 years ago.''

* The MMCA will hold a fundraising evening at the Inn Off The Park, in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, on Friday, October 1, from 7.30pm to 11pm.

There will be a raffle, tombola, bingo and 1960s music.