TYKES at home and abroad were celebrating their heritage yesterday.

It was Yorkshire Day and the only flower in every true Tyke's buttonhole was a white rose.

And the owners of a family-run delicatessen in Pickering, North Yorkshire, were scotching the old wives' tale that Yorkshire folk are tight-fisted.

Seasons, in the Market Place, invited people to try their Yorkshire fare and matched every pound spent on Yorkshire roses, with the proceeds going to charity.

Anyone who could prove they were born in the county was given a five per cent discount.

August 1 was chosen as Yorkshire Day because on that day in 1756, regiments from the county who fought at the Battle of Minden in Westphalia, Germany, picked white roses from nearby fields in tribute to fallen colleagues.

Since then, Yorkshire regiments have worn white roses on August 1 to commemorate the bravery of their ancestors.

Meanwhile, members of the Yorkshire Ridings Society's North Riding Group read out the Declaration of Integrity for Yorkshire Day across east Cleveland.

The declaration was read at Eston Square, beside Redcar Town Clock, at Marske, on Saltburn Pier and at Guisborough.

To entertain crowds, there were stilt-walkers, jugglers, sword-dancers and a fire-eater in Redcar High Street, where a 20-piece band performed outside. There was also an eight-hour indoor concert and a duck race on Saltburn Beck.

The Ridings Society yesterday offered roses for sale, with all donations going to the Katie Trust for children's cancers.