Footy roundabout row sees council labelled killjoys

Councillor Jerry Pearce has described the move as "heavy-handed"

Tories have accused a Labour council of being killjoys after cleaning up St. George's crosses that were painted on to five mini roundabouts during England's Euro 2024 campaign.

The spray-painted, red daubing appeared in Chaddesden, Derby - an area overseen by the city council.

After the markings were removed like goals scrubbed out to VAR, Conservative councillors on social media accused the authority of needing to "work on their priorities".

But Derby City Council blew foul, saying while it was cheering on the Three Lions, it did not want people to show their support by way of two lines - of graffiti.

One of the St. George's crosses - in total there were five in Chaddesden

Jerry Pearce, a Conservative councillor for the Chaddesden area, said of the approach: "I think it is a bit heavy-handed. It is a bit of a killjoy attitude.

"If they had left it for another 10 days when the tournament finishes, I don't think anyone would have minded."

A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: "We're cheering on the England men's team in the Euros like many others, but we'd ask that people don't use graffiti to show their support."

They said while there had been no decision to address the markings specifically, the council's teams were doing a "fantastic job" to "ensure the city remains clean".

They added "no matter how well-intentioned [the crosses], graffiti is ultimately vandalism and as a council we are responsible for keeping the city clean and tidy".

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