THOUSANDS of "exiled" Tykes woke this morning to find themselves back in God's own county - unofficially at least.

West Craven has been caught in the middle of a new twist to the latest War of the Roses.

Former England bowler Fred Trueman yesterday unveiled a "Yorkshire West Riding" sign between Foulridge and Kelbrook at the former boundary to mark Yorkshire Day as part of an on-going campaign to return the area to the White Rose county.

Since local government reorganisation in 1974 the official border has been four miles down the road at Thornton-in-Craven but members of the Unite Craven campaign want Barnoldswick and Earby re-united with Craven district in Yorkshire.

The group's chairman, Geoff Hoyle, said: "Fred Trueman is very sympathetic to our cause and he agreed to unveil this sign when we asked him.

"He was there for about half an hour talking to the Press and the television cameras and we got a lot of useful publicity from the event. We were very pleased with the reception we got.

"The sign will draw people's attention to our campaign and hopefully they will support what we are doing. A lot of people in West Craven still feel they are part of Yorkshire."

To passing motorists the unofficial 6ft x 2ft sign in a farmer's field alongside the A56 Colne-Skipton road looks just like the real thing and campaigners are hoping their pressure will persuade officials to reinstate the boundary.

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