A POLISH war veteran who has lived in the same Swindon house for 50 years has celebrated his 100th birthday.

Family came from as far away as Canada to help father-of-five Gustaw Bogdaniec mark the occasion.

His relatives gathered in Swindon ahead of his birthday yesterday.

Mr Bogdaniec, who was born in Poland, served in the Polish Army under British command in the Second World War.

His daughter Danuta Chrusciel said her father had served in France, Holland and Germany, driving a tank.

He joined the Allied forces after being moved to Siberia.

His family was split up by the war. His wife Helen, daughters Danuta and Frida and sons Rysiek, Kazic and Janusz were moved to Uganda where they lived for seven years until the war ended.

Mrs Chrusciel, speaking on behalf of her father, said the family had been reunited at an immigration camp in Cirencester in 1948.

In 1956, the family moved to Swindon where Mr Bogdaniec worked at the Swindon Pressings plant as a labourer. He stayed at the plant until retirement, aged 65.

Mrs Chrusciel said her father still lived in the same family home, in Ashwell Close, Walcot.

"He knows what he's talking about," she said.

"When he's angry, he shows he's still top of the family. He has five children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

"He liked to work in the garden and he had a small allotment. He worked mostly in the garden and doing jobs around the house. He still can walk around the house. For his age, he's doing pretty well."

Mr Bogdaniec's wife died four years' ago, aged 94.

Mrs Chrusciel said the family had been split up in Siberia, with her father joining the army and the rest of the family being moved to Africa.

"We were taken from Poland in 1940 to Siberia and he joined the army under British command," she said.

"Because he was with the British Army we were allowed to come to England."