A special service to remember a battalion of brave Bradford soldiers killed at the Battle of the Somme is to become an annual event.

Bradford Council has decided to make the anniversary of the soldiers' sacrifice a permanent date in the civic calendar.

The Bradford Pals will be honoured at a service in Centenary Square on Thursday, July 1, at 11am.

More than 1,700 men from Bradford had been killed or injured by the end of the first hour of the Somme battle on July 1, 1916.

The first July 1 commemorative service was held in Centenary Square last year, instigated by the Lord Mayor Councillor Allan Hillary.

A Council spokesman said: "We have decided to mark the anniversary every year with a service - just as we do with other significant events that have happened in our community."

Families of the soldiers who gave their lives in one of history's most bloodiest battles and of those who survived have been invited to attend the ceremony next month.

The ceremony will be one of the first civic duties to be performed by Keighley Councillor Irene Ellison-Wood, in her role as Bradford's new Lord Mayor.

She will be joined at the memorial service by pupils from Oakbank School and the Rev Albert Gayle from Eccleshill and Thackley Methodist Churches.

The pupils will perform a selection of moving readings recounting Pals' experiences.

The service will be held next to the Pals' commemorative stone, which was commissioned by Bradford Council and carved from a four-ton piece of Bolton Wood stone bearing the inscription: "And lo, a mighty army came out of the North."

The last of the Pals died in the late 90s, but Bill Morgan, 68, of Carr Hill Avenue, Calverley, whose father George served as a sergeant said the anniversary commemoration was a fitting tribute.

He said: "The Pals would be delighted. They were all splendid men who played a huge part in Bradford's history. It's only fitting they should be remembered this way."