Bank holiday now '˜almost irrelevant' say residents

But spare a thought for the shop workers, table waiters and emergency services, who will be among many going into work like any other day.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the May Day bank holiday – one of eight bank holidays in the UK calendar.

At the same time, there have been calls for events such as the upcoming royal wedding to also be made into bank holidays.

The News has been out and about talking to people about whether they think the bank holiday is worth it.

Ian Allcock, a 59-year-old security officer from Portsmouth, said: ‘I have always worked bank holidays, so I suppose it doesn’t bother me too much. I did 15 years in the army and bank holidays are just normal working days.

‘For people working they’re just a waste of our time.

‘But I believe shops shouldn’t be open – if the government has decreed a day off then everyone should be entitled to it.

‘If people want to work it then that’s fine, but I think they should at least be given the option.’

Liz Askew, also from Portsmouth, said: ‘The bank holidays are good, but we don’t need any more of them.

‘Things like the royal wedding don’t need to become bank holidays.

‘You need to keep things going economically, and that would be a problem if we had too many of these.

‘My daughter is working the bank holiday and so are many other people.’

Robin White, 21, from Gosport, said: ‘I work bank holidays and need public transport to get to work, so it’s a real struggle for me.

‘I feel like royal weddings almost do deserve a bank holiday as it’s a national celebration, but for workers like me I wouldn’t get the day off so it’s almost irrelevant.’