More than 100 international flags welcomed Barnet FC supporters back to a stadium on Saturday.

Fans attending The Hive, in Camrose Avenue, Edgware, were delighted at the sight of the flags during the first home match of the season against Wycombe Wanderers.

The full collection represented a grand total of 102 different countries and regions where Barnet FC and London Bees teams have beacons of support.

John Adkins, the volunteer behind the display, took four hours to get all the flags up, starting at 7am.

He said: “People came up to me and said it looks great, I got lots of compliments, even from club officials.

“Someone from the Wycombe team asked me what it was in aid of, so I explained that it represents our international supporters.”

John volunteers as the International Supporter Liaison, but is better known as “Village”- an affectionate nickname that stuck after he injured himself diving into the sea, gaining the reputation as the “village idiot”.

He received an unexpected gift on Saturday in the form of the latest flag to add to the display.

The Cayman Islands flag was donated by a family who had come over to watch their son play in the youth team.

It was a timely gift, since the flag replaced what John had hoped would be the latest addition – a British Indian Ocean Territories flag which seems to have been lost in the post.

Around 30 flags, all belonging to John, go on display at the club on a weekly basis, but the full collection is saved only for special occasions.

John is now preparing for an influx of Scandinavian football fans, who migrate to watch Barnet play once their own football season finishes in October.

He will be sure to provide plenty of photo opportunities for these visitors with their home flags, as he recently did with an American youth team and a Lithuanian team who trained at The Hive.

He added: “It is just a nice little reward for them. It’s also nice to have appreciation of what I am doing.

“If anybody turns up and I don’t have their flag on display I just go to my locker and get it out so they can have a photo with it.”

Although John was disappointed with the result on Saturday, which saw Wycombe win 2-0, he will get the entire flag collection out again for the last home game of the season, regardless of where Barnet finish.