HYNDBURN'S only town crier is ready for the most important ceremony of the year.

Peter Cornwell, 49, became the Great Harwood Town Crier earlier this year, and has carried out his official duty twice so far.

But at the weekend the father-of-three will be 'crying' the annual Great Harwood Fair, from the Town Square, in an ancient ceremony.

Residents and local dignitaries join Peter, of Harwood Lane, Great Harwood, as he goes through traditional yelling and bell-ringing, which has been going on in Great Harwood since 1318.

Peter, who also works as a process manager at LG Philips in Simonstone, said: "I did expect that there would be some standard sentences for each of the events. But the only one that there is a predetermined speech for is the one this Saturday, for crying the fair.

"I have to read out a speech that has been used for hundreds of years. For the others I just write my own."

Peter's first event was in July, at the Hyndburn mayor-making ceremony in where Coun Miles Parkinson and his wife received the official chains of office.

He said: "You have got to have an outgoing personality and be comfortable standing in front of various sizes of groups of people and in strange clothing!

"When I appeared at the mayor-making I was a bit conscious about what I was wearing until I saw the Morris Men. Then I didn't feel so bad."

"You don't know if you will like the job, or if the job will like you, but I haven't had any complaints yet! There was a bit of a problem with the garters falling down, but we've solved that.

"The outfit gets handed down from one crier to another, and they're not a one size fits all!"