We'll remove flags from lamp-posts, says council

4 hours ago

Elliot Deadyand

Phil Shepka,Cambridgeshire

News image — Elizabeth Way in Cambridge is one place where St George's flags have been hung on lamp-posts

Alex Harris/BBC A row of lamp-posts in the middle of a dual carriageway. They all have St George's flags flying from them. Cars are driving on both sides of the road. — Elizabeth Way in Cambridge is one place where St George's flags have been hung on lamp-posts

Flags attached to lamp-posts without planning permission will be removed, a council leader has said.

Union jacks and St George's flags have been appearing across the country over the past year – most recently to show support for England in the World Cup.

Lucy Nethsingha, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said it was "fantastic" to see people wanting to support the team but that it must be done "in a safe, inclusive way and with permission".

But Billy Crotty, who hung hundreds of flags along the A1198 last year, said he thought the policy was "overkill".

The council had previously removed the flags Crotty had raised on a stretch of the road near Bassingbourn.

He said he had stopped attaching flags to lamp-posts since then because "things run their natural course".

"We did it when we did it, it had maximum impact, [and] they looked nice. The council's decided to take them down, but we always said we'd take them down anyway," he said.

"You don't leave Christmas lights up all year, so they weren't something we were just going to leave up indefinitely."

A man wearing a red T-shirt climbing a ladder to fix a St George's flag to a lamp-post. — Billy Crotty put up hundreds of flags along the A1198 last year

Nethsingha said the Liberal Democrat-run council was also looking at ways to stop more flags being put up.

"While some might love to show a flag on their own house or car, it's not appropriate to attach them to a public lamp-post," she told the BBC.

She said the council did allow items to be attached to lamp-posts but "strictly with permission, with careful consideration needing to be given to loading and other current attachments".

"Simply putting a ladder up against a lamp-post is incredibly reckless and risks lives," she continued.

"We will be taking down all the flags attached without permission. We are looking at ways to prevent this in the future."

Emma Howgego/BBC A woman smiles directly at the camera. She is wearing a navy top under a white shirt. There is a beech tree in the background. — Lucy Nethsingha said climbing ladders to put flags on lamp-posts was "incredibly reckless"

The county council is not the first local authority in England to take such action.

Last week, the High Court approved an injunction banning people from raising flags near roads in Oxfordshire.

Councils in Shropshire and Blackpool have also removed flags because of safety concerns.

Groups responsible for hanging them have described the displays as acts of pride and patriotism, but others have said they are provocative at a time when national tensions around immigration are running high.