NORTH West MEP Chris Davies is urging the people of Bury to expand their linguistic skills and learn another language.

The Liberal Democrat said he was concerned that many schools are no longer pushing students to take a foreign language post 14-years-old.

New figures have shown that only 27 per cent of British residents can speak another language, less than half the European Union average, compared to Luxembourg where 97 per cent can speak at least one other foreign tongue.

Mr Davies said: "We're very lucky that English has become the new Esperanto, but the British problem of being unable to speak in even one other language too often makes us appear as a narrow-minded and insular nation."