THE spirit of St George was alive and well in Bolton on Saturday as flags were flown and local people celebrated the English patron saint's day.

Throughout the borough people were flying the red and white cross from bedroom windows and motorists had smaller flags fluttering from car windows.

A decision not to fly the flag of St George at the town hall because of Government protocol had sparked a storm of protest and council leaders announced last week that they had changed their minds and the red cross flew alongside the Union flag on Saturday.

Events were also held throughout the town to mark the day, including a "knights and damsels" celebration of Englishness centred on pubs in Deane.

With the aim of raising cash for Bolton Hospice, the landlords of the King's Head, Church Inn, Stag's Head and Queen Anne pubs got together to arrange a village party.

Staff and regulars joined in the fun, dressing up in medieval or Cavalier style costumes or sporting red and white hats, T shirts or face paint.

One of the highlights of the day was "Ye Olde Pub Crawl" between the pubs taking part and customers could enjoy tucking into the pasties donated by Elliots bakery to raise funds for the hospice.

King's Head landlord Paul Quinn, said he was happy to join in the fun for the day, despite being Scottish himself.

"The Scots and the Irish are proud of their days and English should be too," he said.