Row over removal of flags on lampposts

There are more than 40 flags on lampposts around the new town of Cranbrook on the outskirts of Exeter

Action should be taken over an increasing number of flags illegally attached to lampposts, a councillor has said.

Henry Gent, Green Party member on Devon County Council, said the flags were being used to intimidate people and should be removed.

Reform councillor Jacqueline Fry said the flags had been put up by people who were "proud of our nation" and should be left in place.

Julian Brazil, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said people were putting themselves in danger when putting up flags and the council was working with police on looking at what could be done.

Henry Gent wants to see all of the flags in his constituency of Cranbrook taken down

Gent, member for Broadclyst, said he had counted 45 flags attached to lampposts in Cranbrook.

"I think it makes people feel anxious and upset and I think it's an intrusion of a political symbol into a public open space that should be neutral," he said.

"Unless we bring an end to it, it'll just get worse and worse."

Gent wants to see the council working with police to remove all of the flags that had been illegally attached to lampposts.

Jacqueline Fry says people should be proud of the country's flags and they should be left in place

Fry said the flags that had appeared were an expression of how people in Devon "want to take their country back".

The Reform councillor said: "We need something to be proud of and putting our flags up - just like any other country puts flags up - why should we go against that?

"Why shouldn't we be proud of our nation and our nation's flags?"

The leader of the council said officials had already taken action to remove some flags that were "deliberately provocative" in areas such as the streets around Exeter Mosque.

Brazil said: "What concerns us is that there is an element of the people putting the flags up who are doing it for nefarious reasons - they are not doing it to be patriotic or inclusive."

A man putting up a flag in Exeter was captured on CCTV

The council said it was also concerned about people putting themselves in danger when attaching flags to lampposts and shared a picture of a man putting up a flag in the Pinhoe are of Exeter.

A council spokesman said: "Streetlights are simply not designed to bear the weight of an adult and there is a very real danger that the leverage caused by the weight of an adult, standing on top of a ladder leaning against one of these columns, could cause it to collapse into the road and a fall from that height is likely to cause serious injury."

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, said she wanted to encourage a public conversation about the issue and it would be discussed at a Police and Crime Panel meeting on 21 November.

"I am supportive of people demonstrating their patriotism on their own property, but flags should not be displayed on public property without permission especially if they cause vandalism, damage or put public safety at risk," she said.

"Defacing road signs and infrastructure poses a safety risk and costs taxpayers' money to fix which could be better spent on vital public services."