COUNCIL employees have been banned from flying the flag for England on the eve of the World Cup.

Thousands of Lancashire County Council workers have been told they are not allowed to display the cross of St. George on any vehicles or buildings.

Irate staff said they received a memo laying down the law, and unions have slammed the move, branding the county council 'killjoys'.

The order appears to go against Government wishes, after letters were sent to councils urging them not to be 'spoilsports' and to take a common sense approach to flag-flying during the tournament.

One employee said: “They don't want anybody watching football during work time, which is fair enough, but also we're not allowed flags in our offices or in the car park, and they've not given an explanation really.

“Why no flags? It's just stupid, an anti-English statement and attitude.

“For some reason they are afraid of upsetting somebody.”

The memo said the aim was to 'allow reasonable flexibility whilst retaining a professional response to our customers, both internal and external'.

It said there should be 'no displaying of flags in any LCC vehicle, no displaying of flags in any LCC building and no football shirts to be worn by staff at work'.

Tom Fallows, of workers' union GMB, said the memo was even more upsetting given the fragile morale of staff at the council after an equal pay review earlier this year.

He said: “Some people have lost quite considerably in terms of wages, so morale is quite low.

“One thing they might be looking forward to is a successful World Cup for England and if they want to display their good wishes and get involved in the celebrations they should be able to.

“Downing Street has shown the way and with this being a Tory-led council I thought this would have been given the green light.”

John Williams, a former Blackburn with Darwen councillor who is national deputy chairman of the Royal Society of St George, said: "It is pretty small-minded.

"It is a poor do if people can't express national support.

"There are times you have to show your patriotism, and this is one of them."

The county's policy is in stark contrast to other East Lancashire councils.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said it had put no such measures in place and was displaying the St George in a light display on Blackburn Town Hall.

Ribble Valley Council said it would be flying the flag from Clitheroe Castle and that while staff would 'understandably' not be allowed to wear football shirts to work, it was holding a red and white clothes day today for its mayor's charity appeal.

Rossendale Council said it had not made any demands and Burnley Council said, while staff could not wear football shirts, it would fly the flag of St George at Burnley and Padiham town halls.

A spokesman for Pendle Council said as long as health and safety guidelines were not being broken, such as a flag obstructing a driver's view, staff would be able to show their support.

And Peter Britcliffe, Hyndburn Council leader, said: “We are flying the flag loud and proud from our civic buildings.”

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps had urged councils to 'reclaim the English flag as a proud symbol of our nation's identity', and not be seen as 'over zealous spoilsports'.

The flag of St. George will be flying from County Hall, and individual managers have been given discretion for inside individual offices.

Carol Mills, director of human resources at LCC, said: "We have told our staff that they cannot fly flags on county council-branded vehicles.

"As a council, our first priority is to deliver high-quality services and our vehicles should reflect this at all times.

"We will be celebrating the World Cup in a number of ways including activities taking place across Lancashire, such as through our youth service, to mark the tournament."