HUNDREDS of people lined the streets of Colne in the pouring rain as the town welcomed soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster Regiment yesterday.

Around 150 soldiers from the regiment’s First Battalion paraded through the town after a church service at St Bartholomew’s in Church Street, to celebrate the exercising of the freedom of the borough.

Taking part in the parade were five Pendle men from the battalion, Jack Lancaster from Earby and Christopher Whittaker,Wayne Crowcroft, Ryan Hargreaves and Ben Shaun all from Colne.

After the parade, Pendle mayor, Cllr Graham Roach, accompanied by Colonel Andrew Dennis, inspected the troops in front of the war memorial in Albert Road.

Cllr Roach said: “It has been a fantastic day of celebration here in Colne.

“People lined the streets waving flags and clapping, including a number of school groups, despite it raining.

“We are all extremely proud to welcome these brave, intelligent men to our borough.

“It has been a historic moment and it has been a pleasure to be involved .”

The freedom of Pendle was automatically granted to the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, having been given to one of its antecedent regiments, the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment (QLR).

However, this was the first time the regiment, or the QLR, was able to exercise this privilege and parade through Pendle.

It follows an invitation from former mayor, Cllr Asjad Mahmood, in 2012.

Road closures were in place for around two hours while the parade took place and Colne bus station was closed until 1.30pm. Services up to 11.30am used a temporary stop outside Colne Police Station. Buses to Barnoldswick, Trawden and Keighley used alternative routes.