RAINBOW colours are flying outside the Wiltshire Council offices today to mark the start of LGBT History Month.

This year the theme is peace, reconciliation and activism.

Leader of the council Baroness Jane Scott was joined by cabinet members, staff and Wiltshire Council chairman Allison Bucknell, who raised the flag this morning.

An exhibition is also on display in the atrium of County Hall in Trowbridge which will run until the end of February, while the flag will fly all month.

Cllr Bucknell said: “This marks the start of LGBT month and I think it is really important to remember the people who spent a long time being persecuted for who they were and that is wrong in today’s society. Let’s all look at it and welcome the fact that we can be out and proud wherever we are these days and be ourselves.”

David Payne, health trainer and chair of the LGBT Forum in Wiltshire, said: “I have been working at Wiltshire Council for five years and it has always been a place that is inclusive of all everyone. We have been raising the flag for four years now and every year more and more members of the team get involved and show their support.

“LGBT History Month is important as it acknowledges the brave man and women who got us to where we are today and gives us a chance to see what still needs to be done.”