A FORMER British prisoner of war who swapped uniforms with a Jewish inmate so he could spy on a Nazi concentration camp is to be considered for a major honour.

Denis Avey, who lives near Buxton, was being held in Monowice POW camp and was working in a factory when he met Ernst Lobethall, a Jew who had been sent to nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Mr Avey, now 91, convinced Mr Lobethall to give him his ID badge and concentration camp uniform.

He then twice walked back to Auschwitz-Birkenau to gather valuable evidence about the Nazi's Final Solution.

Meanwhile, Mr Lobethall returned to Monowice POW camp, where prisoners were held in far better conditions.

Mr Avey, who moved to Derbyshire after the war, could now be given the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

The honour is reserved for non-Jews who helped Jews during the war.

Recipients include Oskar Schindler, who saved more than 1,000 Jews by putting them to work in his factories.

Mr Avey, who lives with his wife Audrey, 77, remains modest about his efforts.

He said: "I would be immensely proud if I were to receive this award. I knew it would get me shot if I was caught but I did it naturally. I was brought up that way, to be fair."

A decision on the award is expected in the spring.