LEADERS of the campaign to give Herefordshire its own flag have reported a “very encouraging” response after its launch in the Hereford Times last week.

Matthew Engel, one of the organisers of the project, said: “We feel we’re on the right track towards giving our county a symbol of its own to match those of almost every other county in the country."

Among the early enthusiasts were the county’s Young Farmers.

Herefordshire federation’s vice-chairman Zoe Whittall said: “I think that this is such a fantastic idea and something we would love to be part of."

The project has already received its first donation of £500 from the Friends of Herefordshire Museums and Arts, a charity which supports heritage and arts in the county.

Chairman David Marshall said: “We consider it will be a positive, inclusive and creative artistic process with the potential to engage people of all ages across the county."

Herefordshire Council is not spending any money on the flag and has not been asked for any.

Organisers, who work under the name of the Herefordshire Cultural Partnership, say they are still looking for another £2,500 to fund the competition and are hoping to find support from charitable foundations or commercial sponsors.

Engel added: "This is a community project, not a council project."

All but three of the 39 historic counties of England have their own registered flag as part of a movement that spread across the country, mainly over the past decade.

Herefordshire, Hampshire and Leicestershire are the only exceptions.

The Herefordshire flag will be chosen by competition, open to everyone inside and outside the county and full plans will be announced in the next few months.

A public vote will be part of the decision-making process but, to win, entrants must comply with the rules of the national registration body, the Flag Institute.

Philip Tibbetts, the Institute’s communities officer, has agreed to act as adviser to the Herefordshire competition to help ensure that the short-listed entries will be eligible.

Engel explained: “What we’re hearing from the Flag Institute is mostly simple good sense. Think of the great flags on the world like the stars and stripes, the union jack. We need something that’s simple, eye-catching, memorable. Resonant of Herefordshire – and recognisable in any weather when it’s twenty feet up a flagpole.”

To find out more information and offer sponsorship, email: herefordshireflag@gmail.com.