A WAR-TIME spy thriller set in the sleepy county of Wiltshire might not be your typical combination, but Corsham author Jeremy Dix has done just that.

Operation Wansdyke, which was published by Pegasus Press last month, explores the landing of a German spy plane in Devizes and the fight to recover vital intelligence during Nazi Germany's mounting war machine in 1942.

Despite being a work of fiction, the novel uses some of the 79-year-old's personal recollections from growing up in Bishops Cannings as a schoolchild during the war.

"It is total fiction but it is based on some of my personal recollections of the war in Bishops Cannings as a school boy," Mr Dix, of Holly Crescent, said. "The characters in the book are not real people but they certainly share some characteristics of people who used to live in the village.

"I have always enjoyed writing but it was a challenge to try and insert in a little rural community something that is very threatening and real and something that could have actually happened."

"It took me about two and a half years to write and in that time I have learnt a lot about the book industry and how it works," he added. "It's been a thoroughly enjoyable experience."

Copies of Operation Wansdyke can be purchased directly from the publisher via www.pegasuspublishers.com or 01223 370012 for £8.99.