SEVEN thousand people lined the streets of Clitheroe today to see the Duke of Lancaster Regiment being given the Freedom of the Ribble Valley.

Clitheroe was bought to a standstill as 130 soldiers from the 1st Battalion marched through town before accepting the honour.

During the march, the town was bedecked in red, white and blue, as the troops paraded from the bottom of Moor Lane to Market Place where Ribble Valley Mayor Lois Rimmer presented them with a scroll to mark the occasion.

Local soldiers said they were ‘overwhelmed’ by the reception.

In many places crowds were five-deep while as the soldiers were formally awarded the freedom of the Ribble Valley in Market Place people took up whatever vantage point they could to see the formalities.

Lance Corporal James Kemp said he never dreamed that he and his regiment would be given the freedom of his home town.

The former Ribblesdale High School pupil said: “The welcome that we received from everyone has been unbelievable.

"I have never seen anything like this before. It is a huge honour.”

Commanding office Lt Col Frazer Lawrence said: “It is fantastic to be given the freedom of the Ribble Valley, which is of course a big recruiting ground for us.

“We got a really good turnout in Blackburn for the homecoming parade and the turnout here, which is a much smaller town, has been overwhelming.”

Crowds of well-wishers began to form along Moor Lane and into Market Place ahead of the parade at 10.45am.

Led by the regimental band, the soldiers left Moor Lane near Sainsbury’s to huge cheers from many schoolchildren who had taken up position.

In Market Place at 11am the troops were inspected by Mayor Lois Rimmer before the official ceremony began.

Every word of Coun Rimmer’s speech was cheered as she told the crowds: “This grants the regiment and its successors for all time the right, privilege, honour and distinction of marching through the streets.”

Col Mike Griffiths, accepting the honour, told the crowds: “We need the support of communities and there has been no better example of the wonderful support we get than the genuine warmth and affection we feel in Clitheroe today.”

Kingsman Ryan King, 27, from Mill Hill, Blackburn, said: “This has felt like a homecoming for me.

"We had a tough tour in Afghanistan but a day like this shows us that we are all in it together.”

Lance Corporal Adrian Hardy, 24, from Blackburn, said: “It has been a great experience. The morale of the lads is really high.”

Mandy Paul, 42, whose nephew Lance Cpl Jordan Bancroft was killed in Afghanistan last August, was at the parade fundraising for the regiment.

She said: “We would’ve loved to see Jordan marching.

"I still think that he’s going to come back from a tour of duty and walk through the door.

“I’m here to support the troops and show my pride.”

Leslie Wilson with 130 pupils from Moorland School, Clitheroe, said: “We have army families and it’s really important for the children to realise what these men have been doing on behalf of the country.”

Party People owners Tony and Sue Gould provided the 120 flags lining the buildings and were doing a roaring trade in 99p Union Jacks.

Rose and Crown landlords Nigel Riley and Michelle Harbord were waving Union Jack flags with three-year-old ‘mascot’ Imogen and staff Mary-Jo Taylor and Nicola Harbord.

World War Two anti-aircraft technician Isabella Hamilton, 86, travelled from Accrington to see the parade.

She said: "As an ex-servicewoman I feel that I need to show my respect to the troops."

Ten-year-old James Ingham from Colne was given special permission to attend the event by Trawden Primary School because of his love of the army.

He dressed up in military costume and wore his bomb disposer grandfather's WW2 medals.

His mum Theresa said: "It's a very emotional event and we've come down because James loves all things to do with the army."

The family of Kingsman Chris Leek, 23, also turned out to cheer his return from Afghanistan.

Girlfriend Gewn Hanks, 24, from Southport, said: "Our two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son Jack and me wouldn't have missed this for the world. It fills you with pride."

The heavily-policed event passed off incident-free with no arrests being made.

Lancashire Telegraph team

Reporters: Nazia Parveen, David Watkinson, Sam Chadderton and Catherine Pye.

Photographers: Andy Ford, John Mills, Colin Horne.

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