AROUND the world zebra crossings have been painted in rainbow colours in support of the LGBT community - will Swindon be the next place to do this?

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride fully support the idea as the group believes it demonstrates a change in perceptions and helps raise awareness of LGBT issues.

A posting by the group about the idea on its Facebook and Instagram page certainly garnered enough attention – it went online at 9pm on Monday and within mere hours it had received 144 reactions, 33 comments and 11 shares.

One suggestion was even more radical -painting the Magic Roundabout in the rainbow colours.

Spokeswoman for Swindon & Wiltshire Pride Lydia Lawrence said: “The crossing could be a way of celebrating diversity in Swindon and raising awareness about the issues still faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and the transgender community.

“The comments online were overwhelmingly positive with a few questions on the legality of it, which is something we would have to look in to.”

She added: “London had temporary Rainbow crossings during pride, so we know it can be done.

“Whether it is temporary or permanent we think it would a lovely addition to Swindon.

"The town would benefit from more street art, visual displays and something that has meaning behind it.”

In 2015 the town of Totnes in south Devon became the first place in the UK to have a permanent rainbow-hued zebra crossing.

Other cities to temporarily paint crossings include Tel Aviv, Sydney, Utrecht, Oslo, Stockholm, Brighton and London.

This year's Pride was cancelled due to complications with funding and lack of volunteers.

This year the group's focus has been on building a bigger committee, which it has already achieved as well as fundraising for Pride 2019.

Lydia said: “While we think this would be a positive and inspiring addition to Swindon our focus is on running fundraisers throughout the year to educate, celebrate diversity and raise funds for Swindon and Wiltshire Pride 2019.

A JustGiving page has been set up to try and raise £2,500. To donate visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/swindonandwiltshirepride

Swindon Pride's next fundraiser is on August 11, held at the Regent Hotel, in Old Town on Victoria Road.

There will be live music throughout the day, stalls and a big booze raffle.It will start at 2pm and is expected to run until late into the night.

More details can be found on the Pride group's page facebook.com/swindonpride/