A SMALL ceremony marked Armistice Day in St Helens town centre, with a delegation of Saints' rugby league squad - led by coach Paul Wellens - among those in attendance.

Reverend Rachel Shuttleworth held a short service in Victoria Square, where a small group of veterans attended and took part in the ceremony.

Crowds fell silent after the Last Post was played and Wellens, who led a party that included a number of Saints' younger players, later laid a wreath at the war memorial.

The service for Armistice Day is typically smaller the Remembrance Sunday, however, there was still a healthy contingent among the crowd, which included groups of toddlers who were brought from nearby nurseries.

Some placed tributes and crosses at the foot of the war memorial.

Armistice Day is traditionally marked around the United Kingdom with a two-minute silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month.

The Armistice was an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations. It began at 11am on November 11, 1918.

Other events took place across the borough at Earlestown; Rainford Village Hall and the Crank War Memorial.