'St George's flags on my cows cheer people up'

Ed Bunning said his painted cows had been getting a positive reaction

A farmer who painted St George's flags on the side of his cows has said he was "just trying to put a smile on people's faces".

Ed Bunning, who farms near Morville in Shropshire, also said he wanted to back British farming and tell people: "Come on England, let's all stick together and we'll pull through everything."

The hanging of English flags from lamp-posts over the summer was seen as patriotic by some, but others argued it was divisive.

Mr Bunning said it was not his intention to be divisive and the response to his cows had been "very positive".

He said there had been lots of people waving or sounding their horns as they drove past his fields and some had stopped to take photographs.

He also said there had been a lot of talk about his cows in the local markets.

• Listen: Cows 'putting a smile on people's faces'

The cows are a Scottish breed with a white band across their middle

The idea, he said had come to him as he was standing in a field with his girlfriend when he saw a lorry with St George's flags go past.

Mr Bunning said he turned to her and said: "I know what we could do here" and then got to work painting the red cross on the cows.

"The quite funny thing here is the actual breed of the cattle is a Scottish breed," he said.

But the white bands on the middle of the Belted Galloways made them perfect for his flags, he explained.