“Residents and businesses are being asked if they would like to see the Tour of Britain come back to Devon – and if they would put their hand in their pocket for its return.

The county council said this month’s stage, which set off from Sidmouth, drew record crowds, with an estimated 250,000 people lining the route.

But it said hosting the race again will require financing – and one option being considered is crowd-funding.

Councillor Stuart Hughes said: “With local government budgets increasingly being squeezed, it is prudent to investigate all opportunities. In 2010, when we hosted a stage in Exeter, we worked with local businesses. After talking with other towns, local authorities and stage partners, this appears to be an increasingly-common funding model. Any future Devon stage would likely need a similar cocktail of funding and we wanted to understand whether there was an appetite from the public for this. We’ve had a positive response so far, with over 90 per cent saying they’d like to see the Tour return to Devon.”

Residents can have their say by visiting https://surveys.devon.gov.uk/s/ToBftr/