Campaign to save Yorkshire accent

Mr Ennis said people should be proud of the Yorkshire dialect

A Barnsley MP has launched a campaign in Westminster to preserve the Yorkshire accent and dialect.

Labour MP Jeff Ennis tabled a motion supporting the work of the Yorkshire Dialect Society in promoting "the best regional accent in the world".

He said he was concerned "Yorkshire" words were disappearing "because of the influence of the internet, social mobility and globalisation".

Sixteen MPs have so far signed the Commons motion.

Mr Ennis, MP for Barnsley east and Mexborough, said: "Obviously there are very many good things coming out of the growth of new technology, the internet and so on.

"But I don't want us to be swamped by what I would call estuary English and for our own particular dialect to be diluted.

"I am a very proud Yorkshireman and the tradition of the Yorkshire dialect goes back to the Viking years.

"It is a tradition we should be proud of and we should want to maintain it as much as possible."