The southwest England counties of Devon and Cornwall are locked in a dispute over their Celtic origins, with claims of revisionism being thrown over the Tamer river that divides the neighbouring counties. While Cornwall has long been regarded as a Celtic region of England, recent attempts by Devon to label itself as a Celtic county have led to a war of words between the two neighbours.

Devon recently launched a new county flag - green with a white cross - following an internet campaign to rebrand the county as a Celtic region. The campaign has now moved towards seeking a devolved assembly for the region, similar to those of Wales and Scotland.

However, Cornish nationalists have reacted angrily, accusing Devon of rewriting history in order to promote the county internationally.

The attempt to label Devon as Celtic is nothing but a marketing ploy, they claim.

This is rejected by Paul Turner, who organised the internet poll which chose the design of the new Devon flag.

According to Turner, people in Devon have never seen themselves "as being part of a uniform and bland English nation."

"There has always been a healthy rivalry between Devon and Cornwall, " he told the Sunday Tribune. "The nationalist movement in Cornwall claims that the Tamer river divided Celtic Cornwall from Saxon Devon.

The reality is more complex than that."

Over 20,000 hand-held Devon flags have been manufactured and the local county council has backing plans to establish the design as a unique symbol of Devon's Celtic history.

However, according to Professor Philip Payton, Cornwall's leading historical scholar, attempts to label Devon as Celtic are "gratuitously offensive." Cornish nationalists claim that Devon's allegedly new-found Celtic links have more to do with money than ethnicity.

That belief is supported by at least one leading historian in Devon. According to Dr Mark Stoyle, "People are quite aware in Devon that the Cornish make political capital by claiming to be different.

Besides, it's fashionable to be a minority."