A fleet of buses is heading for the abandoned village of Imber on Saturday to give visitors a closer look at the buildings that were taken over by the military during the Second World War.

The annual bus day sees thousands carried on classic buses from Warminster over the plain to the site now used for training soldiers.

Villagers were ordered to leave their homes, farms, pub and church in 1943 as the allies prepared for the D Day landings. By then all the farmland had been bought by the Ministry of War and was being leased back to the farmers.

At first they were told they could eventually return, but it never happened and the buildings became shells apart from St Giles Church which is maintained and opened for worship once a year.

The Imberbus service started in 2009 after a group of public transport professionals negotiated an arrangement with the Ministry of Defence.

When passengers get to there they can go inside the church and follow several of the lanes around the village although the rest of the buildings are out of bounds.

No more open days are planned for August because of military exercises.

Although it's cut off for most of the year access is expected on November 12 for a Remembrance service and December 17 for a festival of carols.

Visit imberchurch.org.uk and imberbus.org for details of openings and the bus timetable.