“All the escapees passed through the fence, the last one closed the window, we all shook hands and parted.

“At that moment we felt like being in heaven.”

He and two others found their way the old South Tyne Railway Line, crossing the impressive Lambley Viaduct and heading east.

They sought shelter in a guardsman’s hut where they lit a fire and dried their clothes after escaping in a thunderstorm.

The next day under the cover of darkness they set off again, reaching Alston in Cumbria before being spotted by a local policeman who summoned soldiers, ending their bid for freedom.

Josef told how on his return to camp, which was home to more than 4,000 soldiers, he was stripped naked and beaten by British guards who wanted to find out where the other escapees were.

He said: “They slapped me in the face. Then others joined in with short sticks.

“They tried to beat it out of me. After a while they gave up and left, but only to return again after two hours.

“This procedure was repeated throughout the entire night.”

But Josef added that despite his treatment he had no ill feeling towards the British Army.

He later found out one of the other men who escaped had suffered a fatal heart attack as he crossed the swollen river. The other four men were also recaptured.

After the war he returned home to Austria and in 2006 he returned to the region to visit the camp.

Last year he wrote a book about his time in the war. The book titled in German ‘Vom Pimpf zum POW’ is available on Amazon.