THE East Riding of Yorkshire now has a flag to call its own.
Father and son Trevor and Thomas Appleton, of Kirkburn, came up with the winning design.
The flag, unveiled at Beverley Minster, is blue and green, which represents the sea and land, with white, depicting the Yorkshire rose.
Andy Strangeway, organiser of the competition, said: "The flag is a celebration of our cultural heritage which has potential to project brand East Riding.
"We have never had such a brand before. I believe we should seize the opportunities we now have for business, tourism, sport and personal celebration of our identity."
Mr Strangeway, of Pocklington, launched the competition for the East Riding flag in January.
He wants to walk along the entire boundary of the East Riding – a distance of about 220 miles – and put the flag at the extreme points.
"I realised there were no flags for the Ridings of Yorkshire," he said. "I'm a member of the Flag Institute and asked members about it.
"We decided the best way forward was to hold a competition to design a flag and we got about 17 entries.
"More than 200 people voted for the winning design."
The flag did not cost a penny to establish. There is no cost to use the image in any logo and it is free to use.
The only cost is to purchase a flag.
Trevor Appleton, who designed the flag with his son Thomas, is ecstatic to have won the competition.
"I have always been very disappointed how the local unitary authority used the name East Riding while not covering the historical area which includes Filey," he said.
"I have been a member of the Association of British Counties for some time, which also campaigns to raise awareness of the historic counties.
"I am no flag designer but felt it should be simple, so it would be recognisable with a mere split second view.
"The connection to the mother county – the white rose – was essential. The blue represents the sea while the green refers to the rich agricultural heritage.
"The concept was mine while Thomas, who is training in graphic design, put the idea into computer form."
The first East Riding flag was made by Flying Colours of Knaresborough.
Pocklington councillor Claude Mole was among those at the unveiling of the flag and climbed up to the top of Beverley Minster to raise it.
He said: "I think it is a splendid idea. It epitomizes the spirit of the East Riding."
Yorkshire already has an official flag of a white rose on a blue background and both the west and north ridings are also holding a competition to design their own flag.
The institute's librarian Ian Sumner said: "Planning legislation made the process far too difficult and expensive, but all that changed last September with the relaxation of many of the old regulations.
"The institute congratulates Andy Strangeway, the organiser of the competition."
Visit http://andystrangeway.wordpress.com/ for more information on how to purchase a flag.
