Flags removed from 'leaning' town hall poles

Keighley Town Council said work to repairs its flagpoles would take around a fortnight to complete

Union jack and cross of St George flags flying outside a West Yorkshire town hall have had to be taken down after their poles were damaged in recent storms.

A "couple" of the four flagpoles standing outside the building were affected by high winds last month and "faults" were identified, Keighley Town Council said.

As a result, the authority had been advised to stop using the poles until repairs could be carried out.

All four flags flying outside the town hall, including the flags of Yorkshire and Ukraine, had been taken down as a precaution, the council said.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the town council said: "You may have noticed over the last couple of weeks there haven't been any flags flying from the poles in the Town Hall Square.

"During the recent high winds we noticed a couple of the poles had started to lean.

"To avoid further damage, we removed the flags and arranged for the poles to be inspected."

Faults had been found following an initial inspection and the advice from the contractor was to not use the poles again until they were fully repaired, the council added.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed the damage was weather-related.

The authority said the work would include removing the poles and replacing their concrete bases.

This would take "two weeks" to complete once it has started, it said.

The Ukraine flag has been flying outside the town hall since 2022 as a gesture of solidarity following Russia's invasion of its neighbour two years ago.