The remains of 250 soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles in northern France have been recovered after a four-month archaeological operation.

The remains from the group burial at Pheasant Wood will be reburied with full military honours at a new military cemetery close to the site.

The excavation, which began in May 2008, was carried out by Oxford Archaeology whose final day in the field will be 14 September.

DNA samples have been taken from every soldier and specialists in the UK are attempting to extract DNA strands from the samples to help the identification process.

The evidence will be presented to a specially convened identification board which is due to meet in March 2010.

If the soldiers can be identified their relatives will be able to add a personalised inscription on a headstone at a later date.