'Safety risk' flags will be removed - council

Barnsley Council said it would remove any flags which posed a safety risk

A council has said it will remove any flags that are judged to present a safety risk by being hung in inappropriate locations.

Sir Steve Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said flags fixed to public property or painted on roads would be taken away.

Union and Jack and St George's flags on West Street in Hoyland were allegedly removed at the weekend, causing damage to the fabric, and red crosses painted on roundabouts were covered over.

Sir Steve did not confirm if the flags were removed by the council and stated that the authority was proud to fly national flags at the town hall, but stressed that using highways or public structures for displays was not acceptable.

"Regardless of how much we might love our flags, criminal damage and graffiti are not acceptable in any circumstances," he said.

"I'm proud to be British and proud to be English. I'm proud that as a council we fly the Union Jack above the town hall every day of the year. The only exception to that is St George's Day when we fly the St George Cross.

"Painting flags on the highway or hanging them from highway structures is dangerous, not just to the people doing it, but also for others passing by while they're doing it. It then presents an ongoing health and safety risk to motorists and pedestrians.

"If people want to fly flags on their own property, that's absolutely fine and up to them, but the use of the road network, council lamp-posts or other public property is not acceptable and these will be removed."

Union jacks and St George's flags have been appearing in communities across the country since mid-July and have divided opinion.

Some view them as a patriotic gesture, while others regard them as a challenge to the presence of asylum seekers and of people not born in the UK more generally.

A number of councils have already taken action to remove flags from lamp-posts while others have said they will leave them in place.

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