STAFF "proud of their roots" at an engineering services firm in the North-East celebrated St George's Day with an additional business bank holiday for all employees.

Bosses at the Nortech Group, based at Wynyard, near Billingham, decided to honour the Patron Saint of England in the same way Scotland and Northern Ireland mark St Andrew's Day and St Patrick's Day respectively with a bank holiday.

England currently does not have a countrywide statutory holiday to mark St George’s Day, however Nortech Group gave staff the day off in addition to their existing 25 days and eight statutory days’ holiday.

Bryan Bunn, managing director of Nortech Group, said: “British skills and experience are highly-regarded in countries around the world and we want to recognise the dedication and expertise of our employees by celebrating England and St George’s Day.

“It is essential that England, as part of the UK, maintains and builds its reputation worldwide in the current economic and political climate.

"Nortech is a multi-national employer globally and in the UK, we are very proud of our roots in Teesside, England, and we celebrate everything that is good about England with all our staff on St George’s Day.”