SOLDIERS from North Yorkshire have marked the 61st anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne with a 21-gun royal salute.

Members of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, based at Alanbrooke Barracks, near Topcliffe, fired three 105mm light guns used in the Falklands and Afghanistan conflicts at 15 second intervals before a crowd of onlookers in the Museum Gardens, York.

While York is the only saluting station in the North of England, royal gun salutes were also fired in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff.