ORGANISERS of Northumberland Day have issued a call for more funding support.

The plea comes as the Government calls on councils to do more to celebrate their county days, claiming they are vitally important for boosting tourism and developing a sense of community.

This year’s celebrations will take place on May 26, and businesses from butchers and bakers to solicitors and retailers are being urged to sponsor the county day.

The annual celebration is run by Catapult PR with the help of sponsors, including Northumberland County Show, Langley Castle Hotel, and Helen Grierson Design Studio.

Those who cannot sponsor or organise an event are being told they can do one very simple, but hugely helpful thing – flying the flag and decorating their windows, gardens or even their flower beds in blazes of red and yellow.

Organiser, Jane Hunt of Catapult PR, said: “We are potentially the most vibrant county day in the country and we need to be turning the whole county red and yellow.”

Participants are being urged to finalise the details of any events so they can be publicised on the website, while businesses are being encouraged to create events such as food tastings, historical tours and more.

MP Jake Berry, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, said that, post-Brexit, it will be important for councils to regard county days as a huge asset, and Northumberland Day has been used as the perfect example of how a county day should be.

Jane added: “We have always said that Northumberland Day brings the feel-good factor, as well as tourism and economic benefit.

“The Government is now echoing that and urging local councils to come up with ideas as to how to celebrate their county days.

“We buck the trend in Northumberland, as we have ideas by the shed-load, but no financial support. Just think where we could go and what we could achieve, if we had some backing.

“It is fantastic to see that Northumberland Day is one of the first county days mentioned in these reports of the Government’s view of county days.”

A spokeswoman for Northumberland County Council said: “We are working with the team involved in this year’s Northumberland Day to look at how we can support the celebration. We look forward to working together to spread the message about our wonderful county.”

“Our own Discover our Land campaign, which was launched this year, aims to promote all that is great about Northumberland from a live, work, visit and invest point of view, so there are obvious links between the two initiatives.