A FAMILY firm of flag-makers is working flat out to produce miles of bunting for the Tour de France route.

Flying Colours has been deluged with orders for its Grand Depart bunting with requests ranging from large business orders to residents wanting a strip of bunting for a garden fence.

The company is based in Knaresborough, which features on day two of the Grand Depart route. It estimates it will produce approximately 10,000 metres of bunting this month, the equivalent of more than six miles of coloured flags.

Much of the bunting will decorate the surrounding streets of Knaresborough, Harrogate and North Yorkshire villages on the route.

The company has designed special bunting for the Tour de France route in the yellow, white, green and red spotted design of the jerseys worn by riders, along with coloured bunting on yellow tape and Grand Depart flags.

Chris Taylor, head of marketing at Flying Colours, said: “We had to order a ridiculous amount of yellow bunting tape; an extra 10,000 metres and hundreds of metres of fabric. We’re seeing more orders and busier website traffic than we did for the Queen’s Jubilee.

“Harrogate Borough Council ran out of its jersey bunting and they’ve been passing on our details to the people ringing in for it. York Council has also been passing on our details and we’re expecting even more people to start ringing on Monday next week.

“We’ll be working up to the last minute. We can manufacture our orders the same day they come in so we’ll be printing and manufacturing up to the Thursday before the race for people who can come in and collect it from here the day before the Tour de France starts.”