A Holocaust survivor told a gripping story when he visited a St Albans secondary school.

Zigi Shipper was introduced to an audience of more than 200 people at St Albans Girls School, by his granddaughter, Holly Simons, a year 13 student at the school.

Mr Shipper was born in January 1930 in Lodz, Poland and as a boy, he lived with his grandma in the cramped conditions of the ghettos.

The 85-year-old spoke particularly about how he was taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp when he was just 13-years-old. He managed to stay alove with the help and support he received from the boys he worked alongside, which he regarded as his only family.

At the time, Mr Shipper said he thought he had no real family left, however, after liberation in May 1945, he was miraculously re-united with his mother in Hamburg.

The pair then lived in Hambury together until Mr Shipper married his French wife in 1954.

Following his talk, Mr Shipper lead a special candle lighting ceremony made up of seven candles: six for the six million Jewish people who lost their lives during the Holocaust, and the seventh candle for the subsequent genocides that have happened, such as Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia.

Debbie Smith, spokesperson for the school, said: "The demand to see him was so great, we honestly could have had twice the number of people in the audience.

"It was a very memorable experience to be there."

Esme Collins, a year nine student, said: "I though his story was both moving and inspirational - I have really learnt a lot."

Mr Shipper, who has been married for 61 years, has two daughters, six grandchildren and even a great grandson.

He has now dedicated the rest of his life to educating young people about the Holocaust to ensure history does not repeat itself and believes he is the luckiest man in the world to have survived against all the odds.

Mr Shipper's final word of advice to his audience was do not hate, never give up and simply be nice to each other.