Celebrations of England's patron saint took place at a Thorpe St Andrew pub to raise cash for the country's modern day heroes.

The Gordon in Gordon Avenue held a fun-packed St George's Day bash on Sunday in aid of the Help for Heroes charity, which supports wounded UK servicemen and women.

The attractions at the event include a classic car, hot rod and bike show, two live bands, a bouncy castle, barbecue, face painting, half a yard of ale competition, and a record hop with a DJ.

Landlady Wendy Munn, who has run the pub as a tenant with Mac McPherson since last December, said: 'It was a brilliant day and we had lots of people turn up. We don't yet know how much we raised for Help for Heroes.

'St George's Day is never celebrated. We decided it would be a good thing for the community, and get everyone together. I think the event should be celebrated more across the country.'

Meanwhile, bells rang out across the country's towns and villages yesterday in honour of St George, and young people took part in annual parades to pay tribute to the patron saint of scouting worldwide.

Pubs in Norwich have a long tradition of celebrating St George's Day and readers will remember the exploits of former landlord Tony Bennett, who hit the headlines across the country when he headlined a campaign to get April 23 recognised as a national holiday. Mr Bennett, a former landlord at the Otter pub in Thorpe Marriott, lost his two-year battle to get the day recognised as a special occasion in 2005.

The Evening News has been urging customers to return to pubs in our Love your Local campaign.

To see more stories from the campaign visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk/loveyourlocal

Has your pub got a big celebration on the horizon? Call reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk.