Queens lead club day procession

The traditional religious procession round the village will include the Methodist Church, Holy Family Church and Holy Trinity Church, all represented by rose queens, followed by Scouts and Guides.

As in previous years, the churches will be supporting Trinity Hospice with members of the Hospice Committee participating in the procession, which will start at the traffic lights in the village centre at 9.30am.

The procession will move along Lytham Road, turning into Derwent Drive, Ribble Ave, Bush Lane, Croft Butts, Preston Old Road to the Marsh Gates, and return along Preston Old Road, School Lane to the Church of England Memorial School, for the crowning ceremony.

Afterwards the rose queens and their retinues will follow Freckleton Band from the school to the War Memorial in the village centre for a short service.

The procession will then head to Holy Trinity churchyard to lay wreaths on the children’s grave in memory of the youngsters and adults who lost their lives when an aircraft crashed on the village school in 1944.

At 1.30pm the rose queens and their retinues, led by Freckleton Band, will walk from the village centre to the playing fields in Bush Lane for the traditional children’s sports, followed by the adult sports.

Road closures along the procession route will be effective from 9-11am and 1.30 -2pm

On Sunday, the half marathon will start at 2pm followed by a fun run around the village, while a Songs of Praise servicewill take place in the Methodist Church at 6.30pm.

This year is the 175th anniversary of Freckleton Church of England Primary School, and to mark the occasion, pupils will be participating in the Church of England procession.

Paris Gomery is the Methodist Church rose queen. The nine-year-old attends Freckleton CE School, is active in the Cubs, likes the outdoors and has climbed Ben Nevis. Her particular interests include wildlife and nature and she enjoys reading.

Morgan Thompson, 15, is the Holy Trinity rose queen. She enjoys dance and drama, being a member of both Harlequins amateur dramatics group and the dance academy at Carr Hill School, where she is a student. She is an Explorer Scout and a junior cub leader for 2nd Freckleton scouts, loves to read and enjoys listening to a wide range of music.

Niamh Holliday, aged nine, is the May queen for Holy Family RC Church. She attends Holy Family RC Primary School and enjoys sports, especially running, attending a weekly athletics club. She is a member of 3rd Warton Brownies group and is an altar server at Holy Family RC Church. Niamh likes spending time with her family, especially her older sister, Ella and younger brother Sam.