TWO Welsh police bosses want Prime Minister Theresa May to give Wales new powers to make St David’s Day a public holiday.

Dafydd Llywelyn, police and crime commissioner for Dyfed-Powys, and his North Wales counterpart Arfon Jones, have said the people of Wales should be allowed to properly celebrate their heritage on March 1.

They are urging the UK Government to give the Welsh Assembly the power to introduce this holiday.

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Arfon Jones, commissioner for North Wales, said: “St David’s Day is our national day and I believe that we should introduce it as a holiday to celebrate our status as a nation.

“Many countries have national holidays – in the USA it is Independence Day and in France they have Bastille Day and Victory in Europe Day while in Spain Catalans celebrate their own national day on September 11.

“Just as in Scotland it would be at the discretion of employers but it would at the very least be a recognition and a celebration of our own national identity.”

Mr Llywelyn said: “The four Comnmissioners and the four Chief Constables, as employers of tens of thousands of people in Wales, should lobby the Assembly for this change to be introduced.

“Arfon and I believe there is a great deal of support for the idea of creating a new official holiday to celebrate our patron saint’s day.

“It is not a great legislative issue and there is no real barrier to creating a new holiday in Wales.

“It would be a flagship day for our national pride and a mark of our maturity as a nation.”

St Patrick's Day (March 17) is a national holiday in Ireland and a bank holiday in Northern Ireland .

And in 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated November 30 (St Andrew’s Day) as a national holiday, although though banks are not required to close and it is up to employers to decide whether to give staff the day off.

Who was St David?

St David was born circa 542AD at Menevia, which is now called St David's.

He is traditionally believed to be the son of Saint Non and the grandson of  Ceredig ap Cunedda, king of Ceredigion.

He was the founder, abbot and bishop of the monastery and was responsible for much of the spread of Christianity in Wales.