A BUSINESSMAN from Trowbridge is hoping a new flag featuring an endangered bird will be flying high across Wiltshire.

Flag enthusiast Mike Prior, 61, managing director of printing firm Bath Midway Litho Ltd in Duke Street, has come up with a design for a county flag. Mr Prior, of Ashton Street, said: "I have always loved flag flying and I thought it would be good to fly something other than the Union Flag or national flags.

"I thought to myself why not fly a flag depicting Wiltshire. I have done my research and found there wasn't a flag for the county so I thought why not design one?"

Mr Prior's daughter Helen Pocock, a graphic designer, came up with a design for the flag, using the Great Bustard, a bird previously extinct in England but now part of a 10-year breeding programme on Salisbury Plain, as a centrepiece.

The white colouring in the flag is to represent peace, while the green can mean joy, hope or safety. A circle of six rocks is also featured in the centre of the flag, representing both the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge and the six counties on to which Wiltshire borders.

To gauge support for his project Mr Prior wrote to important county figures, including the Duchess of Cornwall, Lord Lieutenant John Bush, Lord Bath and the county and district councils and has received an overwhelmingly positive response.

In a letter to Mr Prior, Lord Bath said: "I wish you every success in the launch of a Wiltshire flag. "The green and white undulation as well as the Great Bustard emblem seem most appropriate."

Only a handful of counties in England have a flag of their own and Mr Prior hopes the Wiltshire flag could eventually become well used. One sticking point when it comes to actually flying the flag could prove to be the law, as it is currently illegal to fly a flag that is not a national emblem without planning consent.

Mr Prior has applied to West Wiltshire District Council for permission to fly the flag in his garden.