Brexit news: Field in Bavaria marked with flag after becoming EU's new centre point

A nondescript field in Bavaria has been marked with a flag after becoming the new centre point of the EU after Brexit.

Gadheim, a village of 80 people near the German city of Wuerzburg, was ready for the bittersweet honour well before Britain left the EU at 11pm on Friday.

A red-and-white pole set on a boulder marks the new spot, and the flags of the EU, Germany and the local Veitshoechheim municipality fly on flagpoles next to it.

"On the one hand, of course I am proud and happy that we are becoming the new geographical center of Europe," Veitshoechheim Mayor Juergen Goetz said.

"On the other hand, of course it's a sad occasion, because with Britain a country is leaving the EU for the first time."

The honour of being the centre of Europe stems from calculations by France's national cartographic institute, IGN, which places the point at 9 degrees, 54 minutes, 7 seconds east and 49 degrees, 50 minutes, 35 seconds north.

Gadheim takes over from a spot in another northern Bavarian municipality, Westerngrund, which is 56 kilometres (35 miles) to the northwest.

The EU's geographical centre, as calculated by IGN, has been in Germany ever since the bloc expanded from 15 to 25 members in May 2004 by taking in 10 mostly eastern European countries.

It has moved around, however, with the 2007 expansion to include the eastern nations of Romania and Bulgaria and then in 2013 with the arrival of the newest member, Croatia.

Mr Goetz said he first heard of IGN's calculation on a local radio station in March 2017, months after Britain voters decided to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum.