Demand is high for the flag of St George

AA Flags, based in Consett, has been inundated with requests for flags ahead of the Euro 2004 football tournament which kicks off on 12 June.

Company manager Mandy Scott said she was surprised by the amount of interest.

She has been forced to use a number of different materials to keep up with the demand.

Union Jack

As the England football team leave for Lisbon on Monday, taxis, cars and many houses in the north-east of England have been displaying the flag of St George.

Ms Scott said: "Business is good and profits are up.

"We generally use Ministry of Defence-approved fabrics but demand has been so great we haven't been able to get the fabrics in quick enough so we are using everything we can get our hands on, including cotton.

"We have got distributors all over the UK but local people come to us for their flags.

"The most popular are the Scotland flag, the Union Jack and St George's - and some people have asked us to put certain words on them, but we have had to decline."