A new celebration to toast the town was born last week when the town council named March 19 as Keighley Day.

The day was chosen to mark the date Keighley was granted town council status. The first celebration will start on the weekend of March 15, leading up to the actual date.

Councillor Joyce Newton, pictured, of the service provision committee which came up with the idea, told members that it would be "a day to celebrate the people in Keighley, the history and mixture of people in the town".

She said: "We want to make it into an event which everybody can join in. It's a great opportunity for everybody to celebrate what Keighley is."

So far the council has organised a torchlight parade to mark the event, but councillors want to put on more attractions for townsfolk and are appealing to people from all communities to come forward with ideas and support.

Cllr Newton said: "A torchlight parade based around traditional music and dance is all we have formally planned at this stage, and we are looking at other things like a children's fair somewhere, with rides for small children.

"But we want to involve the residents of Keighley. This is their celebration.We want to encourage local groups, organisations and businesses to get involved and to celebrate."

Cllr Newton added that Keighley people could be proud of the ethnic diversity in their town, and that the town council wanted to encourage them to come together to celebrate the place in which they live.

She said: "We want people to come up with ideas on how we can celebrate Keighley. Perhaps a best of Keighley or Keighley firsts, like the first Italian family, the first Asian family or the first Ukranians."