Britain's oldest known survivor of the First World War has been admitted to hospital with a chest infection.

The condition of 109-year-old Henry Allingham, of Eastbourne, is not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery.

But he is likely to miss a ceremony today to give him the freedom of his home town.

Mr Allingham, the last founder member of the RAF, was admitted to the Eastbourne District General Hospital on Sunday afternoon.

His close friend Dennis Goodwin, founder of the World War One Veterans' Association, said: "He isn't in a bad way. The doctors have had a look at him and they have said how amazed they are at how good he is physically for his age."

He added: "It looks like he is going to miss the ceremony, which he will be very sorry about as he had been talking about it for some time."

Mr Allingham, who turns 110 on June 6, began his military career as an Air Mechanic Second Class on September 21, 1915.

After graduating, he was posted to the Royal Naval Air Service air station at Great Yarmouth.

Shortly afterwards, he joined the armed trawler HMT Kingfisher, which was involved in the greatest naval battle of the Great War, the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

He transferred to the newly-formed RAF on April 1, 1918, and remained there until he was discharged in 1919. In 2003, he received France's highest military honour, the Legion D'Honneur.

He was due to receive the freedom of Eastbourne from Mayor Graham Marsden.