Residents have been invited to create a recognisable symbol the town can be proud of, which will be flown from flagpoles across Petersfield for centuries to come.

Wendy Essex, of The Causeway, has sent in a design taken from the Petersfield and Warendorf twinning charter, which can also be seen on a welcome door mat at Petersfield Golf Club.

Her design features a green background because Petersfield is green.

Jeanette Pejnovic (14) of Winchester Road, has put forward a rams head design in front of a green and blue background.

And Mr L Woods of The Causeway has submitted a gold key design to signify St Peter's Key, enclosed in a silver tressure, gated, quarterly argent on a green background.

He said the symbolism was about Petersfield being open to anyone from anywhere to stay or visit.

Entry into this competition is simple. All you need to do is come up with a design that represents Petersfield in a flag.

Below are a few common-sense guidelines, known as the 'Rules of Tincture', recommended by the Flag Institute to help you on your way:

l The colour scheme must be very carefully co-ordinated and although no colours should be excluded, putting two dark colours together such as blue and green, or two light colours such as yellow and white, should be avoided. The same applies to putting gold next to silver.

l If possible, the background should have some significance (heraldic or otherwise) for the town. For example, a seaside town would probably wish to use yellow in the design to denote sand, blue for sea or lakes, green for fields, forest etc. Whatever colours are used, they should be distinctive and memorable.

l Light or pale colours are unsuitable for the edging of flags due to the tendency to 'disappear' against the bright light of the sky.

l Any objects placed on a flag should be simple, distinctive, meaningful and above all, easy to read. Letters, words, numbers, mottoes should not be used on flags because a flag should also be easy to read for the average citizen with ordinary eyesight. Information on a flag should mainly be conveyed by means of colour and symbols.

l Any emblem placed on a flag should be large enough to be seen, and should be meaningful, having been carefully chosen for it's significance to the town.

l Above all, a flag should be designed with simplicity in mind. The effectiveness of a flag is considerably enhanced by being used in many places and by many people at the same time. Thus quantity, and therefore cheapness and ease of making, become very important.

The design competition is open to every citizen of Petersfield, no matter how young or old.

An adjudication panel will be formed to sift through the designs and decide on a short list that will be presented to the community for final selection.

The final design will then be registered with the Flag Institute, the recognised British authority on the design, etiquette and use of flags.