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Brits want St George's Day to be a bank holiday and say more should be done to celebrate England's national day. Punters at the last remaining pub on one of the capital's most historic roads said there is nothing offensive or racist about flying the England flag either.

Patricia O'Rourke, 65, landlady at The Lord Nelson pub on the Old Kent Road in south London, said: "Of course St George's Day should be celebrated. We should make it a holiday." The Irish national added: "The flag to me represents England. It's not racist. How can an English flag be racist? It's the flag of England. Would you call the Irish flag racist in Ireland? No. I'm Irish, I respect it. When I put flags up for St Patrick Day my customers respect it. End of story."

Asked if the Mayor of London does enough to mark St George's Day, Patricia simply replied: "No." The landlady, who has more than 40 years in the business, was speaking after the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, tweeted a message on Tuesday (April 21) which mistakenly said it was St George's Day and he had been celebrating with faith leaders from across the capital. A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said it was a typo.

Steve Wynn, 79, who was enjoying a pint with pals at The Lord Nelson, said St George's Day means a lot to him, adding: "It's our national day. We don't celebrate it like we should do. I've always loved my King and country."

He added: "We should be allowed to fly the flag. I know some councils don't let you. For some reason they think it offends certain people. It should be celebrated more."

Tom Masterton, 84, said the St George's Cross flag represents a country which has fought many wars, protected many people and helped a lot of other countries.

Chris Dowse lives on one of the country's most patriotic estates, Kirby in southeast London, where England flags fly and murals celebrating the men's and women's football teams decorate the walls all year round.

He said: "St George's Day has been belittled as time's gone by. People are frowned upon if they want to express pride in their country. But we're proud of where we come from here."

The 47-year-old recognised some people fear the flag is becoming a symbol of the far right, but he said the cross of St George has been embraced by neighbours on the estate from lots of different heritages. Chris, who organises the flag flying with his neighbours, said: "We just celebrate the football and being in England."

But he suggested a bank holiday to mark St George's Day isn't necessary. He said: "We should, but in this day and age people need to earn their money. I'd take it as holiday every time, if I could get paid for it."

The Government told the Express on Tuesday that the cost of a one-off extra bank holiday, such as the one created for the King's Coronation in 2023, would be around £2billion for the UK and as a result, there are "no plans" to change the April 23 date to a Bank Holiday.

On official efforts in the capital to mark the day, Chris said: "It's not just Sadiq Khan. We can all do more to mark it."

Kirby estate resident, Lexie Avery, 19, said she doesn't see England's flag as a problem, adding: "We don't do enough to celebrate St George's Day. It would be nice to do more. I'm proud of my country."

There were mixed feelings about St George's Day among Londoners on the Old Kent Road. Gabriel Ayo, a pastor at Restoration Foundation Church, said: "St George's Day is important to keep the culture of a country."

Asked if more national flags should be flown in this country, he said: "One hundred percent. Why should we be scared of flying our flags?" He suggested the Mayor of London and politicians of all stripes should do more to mark national days as doing so would unite people.

Kirsty Dixon said she didn't think St George's Day should be a bank holiday given none of the other patron saints' day are. She added negative connotations have grown up around the England flag as the far right have seized on it as their emblem.

The 33-year-old said: "Recently, with all the flags put up on lampposts it's more far right imagery now so I'm less proud of it now than I used to be."

Kirsty suggested it was a bit of a shame either the Mayor of London or his team weren't aware when St George's Day was and tweeted on the right date.

A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said: "The mayor was once again delighted to attend London's St George's Day festival at Trafalgar Square on Sunday to celebrate everything that is great about England.

"The original post about the event featured a typo which was amended, and the Mayor will be proudly marking the day itself this Thursday with a video message, flying the flag of St George outside City Hall and lighting up the Outernet screens in central London."