The deaths of two men who died in the IRA Woolwich pub bombing in 1974 have been "brushed over" and forgotten, according to an ex-soldier who survived the explosion.

Alan Horsley, a 20-year-old sales clerk, and Richard Dunne, a 42-year-old gunner from the Royal Artillery, were killed and 35 people were injured after the IRA blew up the King's Arms in Woolwich on November 7, 1974.

Fred Westmoreland was left with permanent injuries, losing part of one leg and his hearing in one ear, and he has now spoken out after the Woolwich inquest into the deaths remains left unfinished.

The inquests into the pub bombings in Guildford, which killed five people, and the bombing in Birmingham, which killed 21, have now resumed, but no one was ever convicted of the Woolwich attack.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Westmoreland said: "Those who died deserve serious attention be given to what happened to them.

"I believe someone would want to acknowledge Mr Horsley's death. It was all brushed over and very quickly everyone forgot about him."

The former soldier was playing darts with Alan Horsley and another man in the now closed down King's Armsc when the bomb came through the window.

"There was a tinkling noise. I looked up and saw a hole in the window. I saw this smoking thing on the floor," he told the BBC.

"I had to go past it. It was the only way out. I had my hands on the door and then I was on my knees and still holding the door, but the door was on top of me.

"The lights were all out. What happened behind me, I had no idea."

Mr Westmoreland, now a Conservative councillor in Wiltshire, said he remembers Mr Horsley "like a brother."

He told the BBC: "To me it's done, but I believe those who died deserve that serious attention be given to what happened to them although it's 50 years ago."

In 2018 it was announced that the historic pub would be bulldozed by developers, replacing it with a new pub and a block of 19 flats.

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Greenwich councillor Nigel Fletcher, who in the past campaigned for a memorial to the two men killed, also told the BBC that any future proceedings should be guided by the families of those who died and any survivors.

"Some may feel they don't want to reopen it but some may feel it's necessary to give important closure," he said.

The Woolwich bombing was part of a series of pub bombings carried out by the IRA, with the terrorist group admitting responsibility for the attack.

Two of the wrongly-jailed Guildford Four were falsely accused of murdering Mr Horsley and Mr Dunne after the attack, and after their convictions it is understood the inquest was brought to an end.

Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said victims had the right to lobby for a fresh inquest.

"It is absolutely understandable that survivors would continue to have questions concerning the pub bombing," he said.