​A patriotic landlord has made it is his mission to make St George’s Day an event to remember in Cheltenham.

Matt Birch, who runs the Brown Jug in Bath Road, held a successful party to celebrate England’s national day last year and has been trying to encourage other publicans to do the same.

He describes himself as “a true bastion of St George’s Day” – which is April 23 – and even has a suit of armour ready for the occasion.

As chairman of the Bath Road Trader’s Association he planned to get all businesses on board to mark the day.

However, Matt said many traders were limited.

He said: “Some businesses are not part of the association and others would find it difficult to create a theme so I decided to urge all the eateries and pubs in the road to make an effort.”

Last year Matt cooked up a barbecue feast which proved popular.

He continued: “This year the Brown Jug will be holding a celebration throughout this day and I am urging schools, pubs, restaurants, hotels and local shops to do something special.

“If you ask one in five people on the street, they would not know what date St George’s Day falls on.

“It seems like we have lost our identity and nobody celebrates it any more. I want to change that.”

Traditional English food such as sausage and mash, fish and chips and cottage pie will be the main dishes on the menu and there will be live music and comedy on offer. A St George’s Day quiz and other pub games will also keep the customers entertained.

Matt said: “I might even put the match on from 1966 when we won the World Cup or maybe when England won the Rugby World Cup.

“We will also stock a beautiful Wadsworth Brewery Ale called St George which has been brewed for decades.”

Naunton Park and Leckhampton schools will take part in a St George and the dragon drawing competition and the Brown Jug will dish out prizes to the winners.

Now he wants more landlords to follow suit.

He said: “All these pubs are talking about the drop in trade but this is the perfect way to bring in more customers. The possibilities are huge for shops and communities to get involved and it is really important to keep our identity alive.”