THE number of armed forces veterans living in Warrington has been revealed as the country prepares to pay its respects.

Further results from last years census have been released in time for Remembrance Sunday, with many veterans set to appear at Warrington Cenotaph.

Around four per cent of people living in Warrington are veterans of the UK armed forces, the first figures of their kind reveal.

For the first time in 2021, census respondents were asked whether they had previously served in the UK armed forces in a bid to improve the treatment of veterans across the two nations through better data.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show 6,877 people in Warrington said they were a veteran at the time of the census.

Of them, 5,104 had served in the regular UK armed forces and 1,497 as a reserve.

Across the north west as a whole, four per cent of people who responded to the census were ex-forces.

National statistician Sir Ian Diamond said: “For the first time, our data is able to show the vast scale of our armed forces community, which is vital information to help direct support and services where they are needed most.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, a large proportion of our veterans live or are located near military establishments, suggesting they tend to stay in the same areas after they have left service.”

Across England and Wales, 1.9million people (3.8 per cent) said they had previously served in the regular armed forces, reserve forces, or both, at the time of the census.

Around 37,000 (two per cent) of them lived in communal establishments – which can include student halls of residence, an armed forces base, hospital or care home – while the vast majority lived in households.

In Warrington, 197 veterans (three per cent) were in communal establishments last year, and 6,678 (97 per cent) were in households.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said the Government is committed to making the UK ‘the best place in the world for all our veterans’.

Meanwhile, Charles Byrne, director general of the Royal British Legion, said the data will ‘transform’ understanding of the veteran population.

“It will surprise many people to learn that, until today, nobody knew exactly how many veterans there were in England and Wales or where they lived,” he added.