RED Rose folk yesterday celebrated all that is great about their historic county on Lancashire Day.

Proud Lancastrians still mark the occasion in Bolton, despite the town being pushed into Greater Manchester under local government reorganisation of the 1970s.

To make sure Boltonians do not forget that they are still in the county of Lancashire, Cllr John Walsh read the Lancashire Day proclamation in Victoria Square yesterday afternoon.

He was asked to read the historic statement by the Friends of Real Lancashire, and he also presented the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Anthony Connell, with an authentic Lancashire flag, which he accepted on behalf of the people of the town.

The proclamation identifies the boundaries of Lancashire as “throughout the County Palatine, from the Furness Fells to the River Mersey, from the Irish Sea to the Pennines”, which includes “the citizens of the Hundreds of Lonsdale, North and South of the Sands, Amounderness, Leyland, Blackburn, Salford and West Derby”.

Dismal weather meant that few people gathered to hear the proclamation but Cllr Walsh said it was important to recognise the historic boundaries and mark the occasion.

He said: “Although Greater Manchester came about in 1974 the boundaries of real Lancashire, from the fells of Cumbria to the River Mersey, are historic and date back to before 1300. It’s important therefore that we recognise these historic boundaries.

“At the end of the day, the Queen is the Duke of Lancaster — so why not commemorate and celebrate this important day?”