Melton Council and Melton Town Centre Partnership have joined forces to order 200 flags to be hung from poles and windows outside shops and businesses.

Officials are hoping to create a festival atmosphere and raise the profile of the national day with the idea, which has received a warm welcome from the public.

Janice Angwin, chairman of the partnership, said: "We want to promote St George's Day as a town event. The flags are a small contribution this year to what we hope will be an event for years to come.

"In future we hope to get schools involved because properly celebrating St George's Day is a bit of a forgotten tradition in this country and should be given more importance."

Businesses are being contacted about the use of about 150 pole brackets already on the front of many buildings in town, and Melton Town Estate has agreed to erect the flags.

Daniela Miernik, town centre assistant, said: "We hope to have them displayed at least one week before St George's Day and it should look quite spectacular all through the town."

About £320 has been spent on the flags, with each measuring about 5ft by 3ft.

Town pubs are also in on the act more than ever this year, after national calls to make the April 23 national day a bank holiday.
Shirley Brierley-Lovell, manager of the George Hotel in High Street, said: "We've organised a virtual horse racing night for charity on Monday, April 23 and we're running a special St George's Day menu.

"The flags are a great idea – we've got a pole of our own and will be flying the flag and supporting this idea all the way."

The King's Head in Nottingham Street is planning a fancy dress night on Friday, April 20, encouraging customers to turn up dressed as British heroes and donate £1 to the Town Estate's Big Picture Appeal to regenerate the town's parks.

The pub will also hold an official St George's Day toast on the night of April 23.

General manager Chris Nicholson said: "We're hoping to see some good fancy dress, a few Churchills, Queen Victorias and David Beckhams. We're putting a real emphasis on it this year and it's going to be a great night."

St Mary's Church will be hosting its traditional St George's Day service on Sunday, April 22, for the area's Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, who will then parade through the town.

Canon Charles Jenkin, rector of St Mary's, said: "I support promoting St George's Day provided it's celebrating what's good about our country rather than a narrow, divisive thing."