HOLLYWOOD legend Sir Ian McKellen was taking plenty of pride in for his home town as he arrived for Bolton Pride.

The Lord of the Rings and X-men star was in Bolton for the first day of the inaugural event.

On the list of his duties as special guest duties was attending the Football vs Homophobia event at Bolton Wanderers Football Club.

Youngsters taking part in the inter school football tournament were thrilled to be presented with their winning medals by the acting icon.

Speaking at the event, Sir Ian spoke of his pride in seeing the children embrace the Football vs Homophobia campaign and his home town hosting its first pride event.

He said: "I would say Bolton, today, is a safe place for gay people to be.

"When I first heard Bolton is having a Pride I thought they didn't need one, Manchester has a pride, but that is a disservice to Bolton.

"Bolton has got its own football team, one of the most beautiful town halls in the country, the most beautiful countryside, a long heritage of great Boltonians, marvellous people who have done great things.

"This initiative is coming from gay people who feel they are missing out in a sense, it's is very important.

"People wonder why we are talking about being gay. There are some people who are from a different generation who have not quite got the message yet.

"Initiatives like Bolton Pride is a chance for gay people to walk the streets, for people to look at them, see them and wave back and that puts a spring in your step. To let people know they are not alone.

"No child is born prejudiced, you have to learn prejudice and homophobia but I believe if you can learn it, you can unlearn it. We have the laws in place, got we have got to make sure people are nice to each other. If Boltonians can't be nice to each other, I give up!"

Prior to his visit to the Macron Stadium, the 76 year old also paid a visit to his former school, the Boys Division of Bolton School, as well as Rivington and Blackrod High School.

Children from Cherry Tree School, in Farnworth, and Johnson Fold Community Primary School, in Bolton, kicked off the Bolton Pride events in the morning.

The 10-year-olds took part in a tournament at Bolton Wanderer's Lostock Academy before taking part in an anti homophobia workshop lead by Football vs Homophobia.

Lou Englefield, from the initiative, said: "It has been brilliant.

"We've done workshops all about being a good teammate, including the use of language and not name calling.

"Bolton is the first club to do stuff with us this 2015-2016 season.

"Bolton Pride really is a fantastic initiative and the support has been amazing."

Greeting the youngsters in the stadium's Platinum Suite, Sir Ian — known best for his role as the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings — was happy to greet them with a rousing rendition of one of the trilogy's most iconic moment, bellowing 'You shall not pass!' to the delight of his audience.

He then presented the teams with their medals and winning team, Johnson Fold One, with their tournament trophy, before happily signing autographs.

Team captain, Cameron Hacking, aged 10, from Heaton, said he was very excited to meet the star.

He said: "I've watched Lord of the Rings and I've always wanted to meet him because he's a really good actor.

"Today was really good because we all worked as a team and all got into the finals and won. We have never won a tournament before.

"It has been a really fun day."

VIDEO: To watch a video of Sir Ian greeting youngsters at the Macron Stadium go to theboltonnews.co.uk