A south London estate has been covered in nearly 400 St George’s flags in anticipation of the upcoming European Championships.

Residents on Kirby Estate, in Bermondsey, took four days to complete the extensive display, a tradition for every international football tournament since 2012.

Chris Dowse played a leading role this year, ensuring every flag was brand new and gleaming ahead of England’s clash with Croatia this Sunday.

The 42-year-old Kirby Estate resident said: “As soon as the flags are out, people come out their front doors and speak to each other.

“It’s a proper old-fashioned style community and something like this really brings the positivity out.

“There are 350 to 400 flags of various types and sizes. It’s our biggest display yet.

“We started prepping on Thursday, through to Friday evening, all day Saturday and some final tinkering on Sunday.

“We’ve still got lots of flags left over. We keep on eyeing up spaces. We’ve even got some bunting going up soon as well.”

Residents who support other nations are invited to contribute their own flags, which Chris and his team will help put up for them.

This year they have additional Portuguese, Italian, German and Scottish representation.

Chris also plans on putting up a big screen in the courtyard should the lockdown be eased on June 21, so the estate can watch the games together.

When asked what he thought about England’s chances of glory, he was clear.

“We’re bringing it home. It’s the best chance we’ve had in a long-time.”