My great-grandfather survived this ... and that's not even the most amazing thing about him

A HEROIC RAF pilot from North Wales whose Second World War escape makes the Colditz breakout look a breeze is the subject of a new book.

Frank Griffiths, who grew up in Denbighshire, was shot down while dropping supplies to the French Resistance near Annecy on August 15, 1943.

His six-man crew were all killed when his Halifax bomber slammed into a French village, with five civilians also dying - but somehow Frank survived.

Badly wounded and alone in Nazi-occupied territory, Frank embarked on a 1,200-mile, 108-day escape through France, Switzerland and Spain, a journey made via the attic of a brothel, a chimney, a brutal hike over the Pyrenees and a Spanish prison cell.

Some 79 years later, Frank's great-grandson, Adam Hart, set out to retrace the odyssey.

Hart, 25, from Pembrokeshire, said: "Frank died four years before I was born, but growing up I always knew of his wartime heroics. He is a family legend.

"Retracing his escape from the Nazis across Europe was incredible and gave me an insight into his fortitude and resilience.

"It took him three nights to hike over the Pyrenees to Spain. I planned to do the same, but couldn't keep up with his pace, despite me being 22 at the time and having just completed Ironman Wales!"