The extraordinary ban has been imposed in Labour-dominated Radstock, Somerset, despite the town having just 16 Muslims within its population of 5,620.



The ruling came after a councillor on the local authority said the red and white emblem could still cause upset because it was used during the Crusades - a thousand years ago.



Eleanor Jackson, a university lecturer and Labour councillor, said: "My big problem is that it is offensive to some Muslims, but even more so that it has been hijacked by the far right.



"My thoughts are we ought to drop it for 20 years."



Officials agreed with her proposal not to buy a new St George's flag for the town's repaired civic flagpole in its memorial garden.



Instead, a Union flag will be flown on Armistice Day - and the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride movement - at 'appropriate' times of the year.



The council will also fly the In Bloom flag at the Miners’ Memorial Garden to celebrate the town’s achievements in the gardening competition.



In addition, there are plans for another flag to be designed specially for Radstock.



But critics last night rounded on the authority for its decision not to buy a flag of St George.



John Clements , vice-president of national patriotic group the Royal Society of St George, branded the council's decision 'nonsense'.



And he claimed it was precisely such 'censoring' of England's national flag which played into the hands of the far right.



"This really is outrageous and utter nonsense. This is the usual excuse based on ignorance," Mr Clements said.



"The mainstream right parties all actually use the Union flag, not the flag of St George, so this is just ignorance. If a flag of England can't be flown in England because of political correctness and ignorance, it is simply outrageous."