A LACK of Worcestershire knowledge let one team of brainy students down on University Challenge this week.

The episode of the long-running quiz show broadcast on Monday, September 28 featured a round in which stern quizmaster Jeremy Paxman asked a team from the University of Warwick to identify three flags representing British counties.

Although they correctly identified the first – featuring a shield with a stag on a background of blue and white waves – as representing Hertfordshire, they were unable to identify Worcestershire’s flag, guessing instead it was Hampshire.

The Worcestershire flag features a white shield containing three black pears, a symbol synonymous with the county, on a dark green and blue background representing the fertile countryside and the rivers running through it.

It first came to represent the county in 2013 following a competition run by BBC Hereford and Worcester, with Elaine Truby’s design picked as the winner.

Although the team from Warwick were also unable to identify the flag of Essex, which features three Saxon daggers on a red background, they ultimately won the qualifying round, scoring 195 points to Clare College’s 100 points, and will go through to the second round of this year’s championships.

The episode is currently available on the BBC’s online iPlayer service.