ENGLAND may be out of Euro 2004, but Arthur Soady and Terry Pike were hoping the blooms in their giant Union Jack floral display would help the tennis.

Mr Pike, 57, who owns Lady Pamela's Cars in Chippenham, and Mr Soady, 49, who is a director of the company, have taken six weeks to grow their amazing Union Jack.

And while its blooms outlasted England's footballing hopes, the pair were keeping their green fingers crossed for Tim Henman.

Constructed from hundreds of red, white and blue lobelia plants costing £160, the flag at Lacock Allotments measures a whopping 14 feet by 12 feet.

The duo now hope to scoop the cup in an Allotment Society competition.

"We thought we'd have a go at a Union Jack because we'd both been watching the football, but sadly it did not bring the players luck," said Mr Soady. "A lot of work went in to producing the display. Terry started marking out the flag at around 9.45am and we finished planting at about 10pm that night. Then we had to wait to see if all the flowers would come up and whether it would be timed well enough for us to make out the markings of the flag.

"The red flowers started to come up first, but then the white and blue flowers soon caught up and we're really pleased with it. It's big and really eye-catching and we think you must be able to see it from the air."

Incredibly, Mr Soady and Mr Pike are novices to horticulture and only took over the allotment last year, having never attempted gardening before.

Mr Soady said: "We both wanted some time away from work, doing something different. We were looking for something relaxing and decided to give an allotment a go and we are really enjoying it."

Last year the pair turned their vegetable garden into a mini Stonehenge and won second prize."

Mr Soady said: "Now we just have to wait and see whether it's the flowers or Henman that wilts first."

Sadly it was Henman, knocked out of the tournament yesterday.