GOLCAR minister the Rev Mike Smith is sharing his knowledge of the legend of St Valentine with television viewers on Sunday - the eve of the day for lovers.

Mr Smith, minister at Golcar Baptist Church, is featured in The Heaven and Earth Show at 10.30am on BBC1.

He travelled to Glasgow, this year's City of Love, for the filming of the programme.

Religious relics, said to be the bones of St Valentine, have recently been found in a cardboard box in a church in the city.

And guest hostess, comedian Rhona Cameron, who shot to fame after appearing in the jungle in the I'm a Celebrity programme, examines them with Mr Smith.

"St Valentine was a legend made up in the late Middle Ages," said Mr Smith, who has been the minister in Golcar for almost 25 years.

"The relics found in the church originated in France and have been not been subject to any forensic or archaeological examination.

"The making of relics was a growth industry in the early Middle Ages. Several Turin Shrouds were made," added Mr Smith.

But despite his reservations about the authenticity of the St Valentine's legend and relics, Mr Smith is a romantic and will be celebrating Valentine's Day with wife Diana.

"We've been happily married for 30 years and are more in love now than when we first got married," he said.

"Real loves grows over time. When couples come to me to discuss marriage I always quote the Beatles song When I'm 64."

Mr Smith said Valentine's Day should be taken seriously. He said it was the one day when a husband a wife could show their honest appreciation for each other.

THE history of Valentine's Day and its patron includes Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

The Catholic Church has at least three different saints named Valentine, or Valentina.

One legend says Valentine was a priest in third century Rome. Marriage was outlawed when the emperor decided single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families. Valentine performed marriages for lovers in secret and was put to death.

Other stories suggest Valentine may have been killed while helping Christians escape torture.

Another legend suggests that while in prison he fell in love with a young girl and before his death he wrote her a letter which he signed "From Your Valentine."