St George's Day Bank Holiday call

Paul Nuttall with the flag of St George

Calls for St George's Day to be declared a Bank Holiday have been renewed by local UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall.

"It should not only be celebrated but marked as a national holiday. This is not the first time I have called for this but it would be nice to think it will be the last and my wish comes true soon.

"Every year a big fuss is made about St Patrick's Day and it would be fantastic if as much fuss was made about the patron saint of England.

"There has been an improvement in public recognition over the past few years but it is really still a very low key event. It is clearly an ideal topic for an e-petition.

"We have far fewer public holidays in this country than many European countries and I believe it would be appropriate for one to be instituted for St George," said Mr Nuttall, Deputy Party Leader.

"I hope as many people as possible will show their support for St George by wearing a traditional red rose next Tuesday.

"Gallons of Guiness is downed on St Patrick's Day and no doubt the patriotic English could do the same on St George's Day with traditional real ales, which thanks to an increasing number of micro-breweries, are readily available. This in turn could help for our ailing pub industry," said Mr Nuttall, spokesman for UKIP's 'Save the Pub' campaign.