TOWN councils around the area have no plans to fly the flag specifically for Prince Andrew's birthday next week.

It had been reported that Whitehall officials in London had instructed councils up and down the country to fly the standard to mark the crisis-hit Prince's birthday.

But now councils are being told that a decision to fly the flag will be their own in a u-turn from the government.

A spokesman for Oswestry Town Council said: "The flag is up all of the time, it is lowered out of respect on occasions.

"We change the flag to mark Armed Forces day and have a protocol in place in the event of the death of a senior public figure."

Chirk Town Council clerk Karen Brown confirmed the flag will not be flying, but that there were no plans to do so anyway.

She said: “We won’t be flying the Royal Standard flag to mark Prince Andrew’s birthday, it’s not something we’ve ever done before.

“We would only do it for the Queen, but we have never done it for any of her children. It’s just standard procedure for us.”

Ellesmere Town Council declined to comment.