PAUL and Lynda Flood have taken their Irish wolfhounds to Derby's St Patrick's Day parade for more than a decade – but a rival city tried to poach them this year.

After rejecting the advances of Leicester, the couple, of Borrowash, and their pets took their place in Saturday's march through their home city.

Mr Flood, who is of Irish descent, said they could never turn their backs on the Derby celebration.

He said: "We seem to be the only ones in this part of the world breeding Irish wolfhounds.

"Leicester started doing a parade this year and asked us to take part, but Derby always comes first."

The Floods joined hundreds of others in the city centre for the celebrations.

They paraded, attended a mass and then danced and jigged to Irish music on the last weekend before St Patrick's Day, which is on Wednesday.

Among those watching the parade, led by a traditional Irish band, was 67-year-old Jim McGuire, of Kilburn.

His family moved from Ireland to Scotland early in the last century before eventually settling in Derbyshire.

The former pit worker, wearing a Celtic FC hat, said: "My grandparents lived in Ireland, then moved to Scotland, so I've come the long way round to Derby. It's important for people who originate from Ireland, even if they are second or third generation, to remember the heritage and traditions of their home country."

Parade marshal Joe Kavanagh, whose family originates from Wicklow, on the East coast of Ireland, was leading the procession for the second time.

He said: "My mum and dad came over from Ireland in the 1950s for economic reasons – they were looking for work. They went to London but my dad eventually got a job up here in Derby.

"He was a steel fixer and helped build the city, including the original Eagle Centre and the Assembly Rooms.

"Although he died two years ago, he was proud of Ireland, and he was also proud of this city."

Mr Kavanagh led those taking part in the parade from Market Place, along Iron Gate and Queen Street, to St Mary's Church for a civic mass attended by Mayor of Derby Sean Marshall, before visitors returned to Market Place for more entertainment.

Many of the people taking part in the march, including members of the Derby Irish Failte Group, wore green clothing or waved green flags.

And many also wore shamrock on their lapels after a last-minute donation from a supplier from County Cork. Freezing weather had led to a shamrock shortage in Ireland, leading to fears this year's celebrations in Derby would be lacking in the symbolic three-leaf plant.

John Pearson, from the St Patrick's Day Committee, said: "This is the 15th year parade and it gets better every time."