HOPING to breathe life back into St George's Day and keep traditions alive, a Burnley pub is planning a special celebration.

The Ram Inn, Burnley Road, in Cliviger, is hoping to raise awareness of the patron saint of England as shocking statistics reveal that only one in five English residents can name the festival's date.

The pub plans to serve up special fact cards from April 23 alongside meals. Landlord Neil Murphy, said: "So little is commonly known about St George and I'm sure many of the facts will surprise a lot of people.

"It will be great to think that people will leave the pub after a good meal and they will have increased their knowledge of England's patron saint."

The landlord plans to give out a random fact or fiction about St George which will be available for a week. And one of the facts set to surprise the most people is that the saint was not English and the tales of dragon slaying were invented after his death.

Saint George was actually born and raised outside of Europe, held the rank of Tribune in the Roman Army and fought so strongly against the Emperor Dioclesian that he was beheaded along with the Emperor's wife.