Council suspends flag removals after workers threatened

A worker removes a flag from a lamppost in Balmoor Terrace, Peterhead

A council has suspended the removal of saltire flags from lampposts after workers faced threats and intimidation.

Aberdeenshire Council said it had requested the assistance of Police Scotland before the operation would resume.

Flags have been put up in towns and cities across Scotland after a social media campaign by a group behind an anti-asylum seeker protest.

Falkirk Council also said workers had been threatened. It said the saltires were put up without permission and posed a safety threat.

Aberdeenshire Council said: "Abuse is being reported to Police Scotland. Removal has been suspended for today.

"The assistance of Police Scotland will be requested to allow removal to resume."

Aberdeen City Council also confirmed that it was removing flags.

The saltire flags have been flying from lampposts over the last few weeks

Save Our Future and Our Kids Future - one of the Facebook pages behind the flags campaign - said it was "disgusted" by the councils' response.

It said it had now started fundraising to buy more flags.

Police Scotland said any decision to remove flags was a "matter for the local authority".

Falkirk Council said the flags had been removed for "safety reasons".

A spokesperson added: "In some instances council employees suffered intimidating behaviour from people which prevented them completing this task.

"This is unacceptable and the council will liaise with Police Scotland to take action against those responsible."

Aberdeenshire Council said staff had been threatened while taking the flags down

Aberdeenshire Council said it had seen a sharp rise in flags being flown from streetlights and reports of flags being painted on roads.

"Sadly, we have also seen a rise in our staff being threatened when taking them down," they added.

"It is entirely unacceptable to threaten any of our staff carrying out their jobs, and we will be asking police to get involved."

They said it was an offence to "hang anything from street lights, or to damage the road in any way".

"Any unauthorised installations will be removed and handed in to the local police station where the owners can collect them," they said.

Saltires have been appearing across Scotland, including on South Road in Peterhead

Meanwhile, in Glasgow videos on social media show people climbing lampposts with a ladder to cut down flags in the Maryhill area.

A Facebook group called The Tartan Team, which claims to be behind the flags in Maryhill said: "Many many many more flags will be going up.

"It's going to be covered over the next couple of weeks. You won't be able to go anywhere without seeing our beautiful flag."

Glasgow City Council urged people not to attach flags to lampposts for "personal and public safety".

A spokesperson said: "This issue will be managed appropriately within the scope of our available resources."

'People are fed up'

Pat Jamieson says people have a right to stand up for their own country

Pat Jamieson lives in the Tollcross area of Glasgow, where flags have also been put up.

He said people were fed up with their money going "towards other things instead of our own people".

He said: "The people in Scotland are showing that they're fed up with all the immigration coming into our country.

"We feel sorry for these people, but why should we have to pay for these people with all of the things that are going on in the world."

How did this start?

The spread of saltire flags in Scotland comes after similar scenes in England, where union jacks and St George's flags were hung on lampposts and painted on traffic islands.

Groups on social media, such as the Midlands-based Weoley Warriors, have been encouraging people to take part.

They describe themselves as a "group of proud English men with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements".

They have raised more than £21,000 through a crowdfunding campaign for "flags, poles and cable ties".

In some other areas, the raising of flags appears to be spontaneous, coinciding with a highly charged political time in the UK when it comes to national identity and belonging.

There have been protests outside some hotels housing asylum seekers where flags have featured heavily among the placards.