A BUTTERFLY breeder fears his plans to release the 'flying flower' in Victoria Square this weekend may be under threat because he does not have public liability insurance.

Ray Sandiford, who lives in Breightmet, had hoped to release hundreds of the Red Admiral, which has been breeding, in the town centre on Sunday to raise awareness that the beautiful creatures are in decline— and encourage people, particularly youngsters to get involved in their conservation.

Mr Sandiford said: "I had got in touch with the council a couple of weeks ago and thought everything was okay.

"But just a few days ago I was told I would need public liability insurance. I don't know about public liability insurance, I just wanted to release the butterflies and raise awareness. It just seems crazy.

"Other people I have spoken to about this think it is ridiculous."

He is in touch with another organisation to see if the public liability insurance issue can be resolved by another means in time for Sunday's release.

The 70-year said: " But at the moment I just don't know if we can release them in the Victoria Square."

Mr Sandiford says he had hoped that children's names would randomly picked out of a 'hat' to open the butterfly cages.

Mr Sandiford, who had been breeding butterflies for 40-years, said: "At the event I had planned to give people a pupae so that people can take them home and watch the butterflies emerge then they can release them into their own gardens."

He was in Wales over the weekend releasing butterflies to raise awareness of the importance of conservation to stop the decline of the beautiful creatures to stop the decline in the wild through climate changes, lost of habitat and parasitic flies.