Richard Burton star unveiled on Hollywood Walk of Fame

A star honouring actor Richard Burton has been unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to that of his wife Elizabeth Taylor on St David's Day.

The couple's adopted daughter Maria and fellow Welsh actor Michael Sheen attended the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard on Wales' national day.

Burton, who died in 1984, aged 58, starred alongside Taylor in 11 films.

The unveiling was also timed to coincide with 50th anniversary of the couple's film Cleopatra.

Born Richard Jenkins, Burton grew up in the village of Pontrhydyfen, near Port Talbot. He died from a cerebral haemorrhage, as his father had done before him.

The unveiling of the star - the 2,491st pavement plaque installed on the Walk of Fame - comes after the Western Mail newspaper started a campaign for Burton to be recognised.

Speaking at the unveiling, Sheen recalled the awe he felt when Burton and Taylor visited the village where he grew up.

"The same beach that I built my boyhood sand castles and learned to flailingly swim, it was that same beach, that one legendary day, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor descended from the heavens, like gods from Olympus, in a helicopter ... and landed on those sands," Sheen said.

"They stepped out swathed in luxurious fur coats - it was the '70s - and walked among us for too short a time."