CELEBRITIES are asking the British public to turn their lights off to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

The Royal British Legion has brought together ­veterans and famous faces including Jeremy Paxman and Twiggy to take part in the national initiative.

Communities across the UK are invited to switch off their lights and illuminate their homes with a single candle or light between 10pm and 11pm on August 4 - the date Britain entered the war 100 years ago.

The Legion said the Lights Out initiative took inspiration from the words of wartime Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, who said on August 3 1914: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time."

The hope is that more than one million candles will be lit - one for every service man and woman killed in the war.