‘Publicity shy’ car broker Ling Valentine, who regular AM users will remember for free noodle lunch offer, is now offering an England flag/chopstick combo kits to football supporters on her website lingcars.com.

The email movie, in which her sister – formerly in the Chinese Red Guard - promotes her free DIY England car flags to the tune of Tony Christie's 'Is This The Way To The World Cup?' shows web-users how to create an England car flag - using a pair of chopsticks. It has been downloaded an estimated two million times in just four weeks.

Ling is giving away 500 DIY flag/chopstick kits.

Reacting to widespread condemnation and concern about the St George Cross being attached to cars from the police, councils and motoring organisations, Ling said: ‘It's a joke so much effort has been made to ban the use of flags. My email movie is an attempt to inject some humour into the debate.

‘My sister in China is the star of the movie. I send a free flag and a pair of chopsticks to applicants, and they have to staple it all together, IKEA-style. No doubt, my flags will collapse in the first light breeze they encounter. After all, they are made in China.’

Opposition to the flags includes*

Some police forces have called on football-supporting motorists to take care when flying England flags from their vehicles.

In Hampshire, drivers have been warned that they could face an assault charge if a flag was to fly off and hit a pedestrian. le the British Motorcyclists' Federation (BMF)

The RAC has warned drivers that if they want to show their support for England's football team they must make sure their flags are specially designed for car use and secured safely.

Some employers have already taken the step of banning their use. Construction workers at Heathrow's Terminal 5 have been told that flags are a health and safety risk because they might get caught in the wind and fly on to a runway

Northampton Borough Council has also banned their staff from flying the England flag from council owned vehicles for health and safety reasons

Taxi drivers in Cheltenham are threatened with having their licence revoked if they fly a flag and even Tesco' originally banned flags in its delivery trucks but was forced to change its policy following public protests. (*Source: Workplacelaw.net)