A BOLTON MP says he is "delighted" that Bolton will fly the red rose of Lancashire above its town hall later this year.

Chris Green said he believes his constituents "identify with people across Lancashire" after Bolton Council announced it would be raising the iconic county flag for Lancashire Day in November.

However, the Bolton West representative said he was worries that some young people are losing their connection with Lancashire in place of the administrative area of Greater Manchester - of which Bolton is also a part.

Speaking on BBC Radio Lancashire, he said: "I'm a little bit concerned for younger folk going through school that they only ever hear about Greater Manchester and that is pulling people away from Lancashire.

"But I think the strength of the community and what people identify with maintains that link."

This week, Bolton Council leader Cllr David Greenhalgh confirmed that the flag will be flown above the town hall and that signs around the borough will say ‘Bolton – part of the historic County Palatine of Lancaster’ when they are renewed.

Mr Green supported the plans, saying he feels the history of the country is important to residents.

"I'm really please, I'm delighted that Bolton is remembering it's roots," he added.

"We're in Lancashire, we haven't ever left Lancashire, we still identify with all the people across Lancashire. The great cities of Liverpool and Manchester are Lancashire cities, just because politicians in 1974 wanted to redraw administrative boundaries doesn't mean our historic boundaries have changed."

Mr Green was joined on the radio by Horwich town councillor, David Grant, a member of newly formed party Horwich & Blackrod First Independents.

Mr Grant, said the people of Horwich have Lancashire "in their DNA" and that he was pleased the town's welcome signs would bear the name of the county.

Speak about the current signs, he said: "They are very nice and they refer to our history but they don't refer to the history we have with Lancashire. You just can't erase centuries of history, centuries of conflict , of brotherhood and everything else that went on in the space of 40 years in which the administrative area has been over us."