Thousands of Sutherland residents were give the opportunity to vote for their desired flag design following public backlash for the commitee’s original choice.
The Sutherland Flag Committee endorsed their original design depicting a swooping eagle on a yellow and red background with three stars or ‘mullets’ however, following its grand unveiling on social media at the start of the year, their efforts were met by controversy.
Blaming a lack of public consultation, locals deemed the the design ugly with some saying it looked more like a budgie as others questioned the reasons behind choosing an eagle.
Despite the complaints, the Lord Lyon officially issued the warrant for the flag.
But then, there was a change of heart and the vote was opened up to the public.
During the month long vote, more than 3,000 people turned out to have their say with 29% of the voters opting for the winning design.
As the flag was unveiled in Golspie yesterday, former Navy petty officer Carl Lenkes, 83 from Golspie said: “I love it. It’s nice looking on the fly – once it’s up flying, it looks fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Navy veteran Bill Cowie, 81 from Golspie and a former electrician with the force said: “I think it’s quite nice. It’s 100% better than the one they went for the first time..”
