OYEZ Oyez Oyez! Skipton is expected to appoint an honorary town crier to shout about forthcoming events.

Barnoldswick town crier Kevin Griffiths, tipped to be world champion within two years, is likely to be offered the position as the honorary crier by Skipton Town Council.

The idea has to be approved by full council in February.

Mr Griffiths, who was born in Skipton and thinks of it as his second home, said he would be delighted to be able to offer his services and that Skipton lent itself to having a town crier.

He told the council's public relations meeting last Thursday: "If you had your own crier you would have a great ambassador for the town. I would gladly be your honorary crier and gladly come and shout things out once a month."

He added that he could only be the official crier for one town but under the Town Criers' Guild rules, he could be an honorary crier for as many towns as he liked.

Historically town criers, or bellmen as they were known, were the original newsmen. They brought the news to the people and served as a spokesman for the King.

Last week councillors debated whether to employ their own official crier who would shout about Skipton at competitions, or whether to appoint Mr Griffiths as an honorary crier to come to the town regularly and shout about the town's events.

As an honorary crier, Mr Griffiths would charge for events like the gala but would do a monthly 'cry' about charity jumble sales, coffee mornings and the like free of charge.

To get an official crier, the council would have to pay for the uniform, which could cost up to £6,000, and pay for membership to the Town Criers' Guild.

Councillors opted to appoint an honorary crier on a trial basis, before they made a final decision on whether to appoint an official crier.

Mr Griffiths said he would be happy to take up the post and hoped that he could help the council appoint its own crier in the future.

"I know for a fact you have an ex-champion crier living in the town. He is a Canadian who misses crying!" he added. He said that with a history as long as Skipton's, a crier could really put the town on the tourist map.

Historically town criers were always protected by law. Any crime committed against a crier was deemed to be done to the King and was therefore treason. Announcements are always preceded with 'Oyez, oyez, oyez,' which means listen in French, and are concluded with 'God Save the Queen.'