Sir Michael Caine has been given the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his achievements in film.

Sir Michael, who lives in Leatherhead, was made a freeman just days before his 80th birthday on March 14.

He said: "I’m so proud to be given this - what a fantastic birthday present.

"I love London and am so proud to be a Londoner."

The actor, who is patron of the Leatherhead Drama Festival, was given the accolade at a ceremony in the Museum of London to mark the opening of an exhibition on his life.

Traditionally freemen had the right to carry a drawn sword in the square mile, be hung with a silken rope and drive livestock across London Bridge without paying a toll.

Nowadays the privileges are symbolic but it remains one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies in the capital.