Union flags unfurled outside a controversial mosque being built on the edge of the Lake District were put there by the Islamic Centre itself as 'a symbol of our shared belonging', it emerged today.

Amid a campaign to raise flags around Britain's streets which swept the nation this summer, Union flags have been hung on the side of South Lakes Islamic Centre.

In response, a video was posted to Facebook congratulating whoever 'did this to the mosque', with hundreds of people replying with anti-Muslim sentiment.

However the Islamic centre itself has now come forward to say its members put the flags up themselves as 'a symbol of our shared belonging and pride in being part of Cumbria and Great Britain'.

'Our centre is dedicated to building bridges, fostering friendship, and creating a welcoming home for everyone,' it said in a statement.

'We reject division and culture war narratives.

'This mosque stands as a beacon of inclusion, respect, and community resilience.'

The three-storey mosque, in the historic market town of Dalton-in-Furness, has been the focus of months of protests over claims that it is inappropriate in an area with a tiny Muslim population.

The £2.5million project was delayed earlier this year when local suppliers are said to have refused to work on it, while hard-Right activists - some waving flags - have held rallies at the site.

The building was first proposed in 2021 by a group of Muslim doctors at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness to avoid the need to drive 48 miles to Lancaster to attend the nearest mosque.

However the choice of Dalton - where just 11 people described themselves as Muslim at the last census - has proved controversial.

Activists from hard-Right group Britain First claim to have gathered 70,000 signatures on a petition calling for the planning permission to be revoked and stood at the site with a banner reading 'No mosque here'.

Meanwhile the leader of the Right-wing UK Independence Party, Nick Tenconi, was filmed shouting 'traitor' at construction workers on the site, which is eight miles from the Lake District National Park.

Explaining why the flags were flown outside the building, a spokesman for the mosque told the BBC it was 'proudly part of Britain'.

'We know we won't change the minds of those set on hate but, through dialogue, we've won over many who were misled by lies and propaganda, proving that progress is possible when neighbours meet as equals,' he added.

It comes amid a drive to cover British towns and cities in national flags, coordinated by an online movement called Operation Raise the Colours.

The Prime Minister has backed the public's right to fly St George's flags after furious locals thwarted a council's efforts to remove them from lampposts.

Labour's Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham warned that people painting the red cross on roundabouts were 'seeking confrontation'.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch retorted that there was 'nothing racist about flying the flag of your nation'.