Euro 2020: Neighbours in south London cover estate in England flags

Gareth Southgate's men host Italy at Wembley Stadium in the Euro 2020 final.

And it's safe to say one estate is getting in the mood early doors. 

Residents on the Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, south-east London, spent days putting up bunting and laying flags over their balconies, as well as sticking them on street lamps and to walls.

Chris Dowse, 42, who works in the hospitality industry, said people first began showing their patriotic side during the Euros in 2012.

Fans at Kirby housing estate in Bermondsey celebrate England qualifying for the Euro 2020 final

“I came home one night and saw one of my neighbours, Alan, had put a couple of flags up. I thought ‘Oh, that looks nice’, and I looked over to the other block and saw a lady had also put a couple of flags up,” he said.

“It just didn’t look finished, so I said to Alan ‘Let’s go get some more.’ “So we ended up buying more and more and more. Then one side was complete but Geraldine’s (another neighbour) side wasn’t.

“So we all came together and said ‘Right, we’re doing it properly and we’ll have the whole estate done.’

• Sign up for our newsletters here

"In 2018 that was the first time the entire estate had a flag on it.”

This year also featured a Scottish flag too, which Mr Dowse said is for a sentimental reason.

“The chap who lives there, his dad was English and his mum was Scottish.

Fans at the estate during the Euro 2020 tournament

"They’ve both sadly passed away in the last 18 months or so, so he’s put the Scottish flag up on one side, to honour his mum, and England flag up on the other side.

“We’ve got a Portuguese flag up at the moment, we’re due to have a German one, French and Spanish.

"What we’ve always said is ‘If you wanna put your flag up, as long as you’re in the Championships or the World Cup, get the flag and we’ll put it up for you.’”

SEE ALSO: 

• Map of London streets with same name as England stars
• Gareth Southgate lookalike pictured ahead of England Euro final

Mr Dowse said the football fever has also spread to a nearby estate where residents previously felt “left out”, so he and his neighbours have put up flags for them too.

“We’ve always had a positive reaction, we’ve always gone to the neighbours just to make sure they’re OK with us doing it, and if they don’t want a flag up we just won’t put one up,” he added.

The Kirby Estate, in Bermondsey, south London, is decorated with England flags

“Online, we’ve had 98 per cent positive comments, and then you get the odd idiot who wants to associate it with all sorts of stuff and it’s just not like that at all.”

Mr Dowse said the estate has already been visited by a few tourists from Portsmouth, and anyone else who wants to have a look is welcome to drop by.

The big game starts at 8pm with coverage on BBC.