THE diary entries of an East Lancashire sailor killed in the Falklands have been brought to life in a television documentary screened tonight.

Brian Marsden kept detailed and moving notes on the conflict while he was stationed on board HMS Invincible in the south Atlantic 25 years ago.

The 19-year-old's last entry was written when the war ended. Brian, of Green Hill, Great Harwood, died the following day in a tragic accident on the ship's flight deck.

The former Moorhead High School pupil was buried at sea and his diary was returned to his mother Joan. Extracts have been re-enacted for a 30-minute Granada Edition documentary, presented by Falkland's veteran Simon Weston OBE.

His mother and younger brother David share their memories of the young man who proudly went to war and gave his life for the Falkland Islanders.

David, who also went on to join the Navy, said: "I was two years younger than Brian so we were very close. He was really good fun to be around.

"Our uncle Joe was in the Navy and our older brother Gary joined the marines but Brian's talk of life on board a ship was what made me join up."

Brian had trained in Cornwall and served in Gibraltar before being posted to the Falklands, where his job involved moving helicopters and aircraft around the ship's deck.

David, who lives in Clayton-le-Moors, said: "Brian rang and wrote home all the time so that our mum wouldn't worry. He gave fantastic descriptions of what was going on.

"Brian had been called out on deck on the day he died. A tractor that had been lashed down broke lose and crushed him. The diary show's that he had been on a high because the war had ended, so it seems such a senseless waste, but that is what war is.

"It was hard for the family when he was buried at sea as we didn't have a body to mourn over.

"The ship was coming home but he wasn't on it. We would have liked to have been able to say a final goodbye, but it was what he wanted."

David, who joined the Navy at 17 like Brian, was posted to the Falklands one month after his brother died. "It was very difficult for me being there, knowing he had seen the same things," said David.

"I watched them filming the diary scenes with a young actor, who looks just like Brian, and it was very strange but it is a fitting legacy."

The programme will be aired on ITV at 8pm.