Removing flags 'cost same as filling 200 potholes'

North Somerset Council previously urged people not to paint symbols over road markings, adding it was "a criminal offence" under the Highways Act

Removing the St George's Cross from road markings and taking down flags has cost a council enough money to have filled 200 potholes, it has said.

North Somerset Council's cabinet member for highways, Hannah Young, told a meeting on Tuesday that repainting and removing flags from the highways had cost £6,000.

She added: "What could we do with £6,000? Well, we could fill 200 potholes which personally I would prefer to see us doing rather than having to repaint over vandalised roads."

St George and Union Jack flags have recently appeared in communities across the UK, with some saying they represent pride in being British, but others concerned they are linked to feelings of anti-immigration.

Ms Young was responding to a question from Weston-super-Mare councillor Helen Thornton who said she felt some communities may have been "intimidated" by the flags, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

She added: "Regardless of the motivations of these actions, they also constitute vandalism or anti-social behaviour.

"I was really saddened just a few days ago that a zebra crossing in my ward had been freshly painted over with white paint... now someone's gone there and painted red on it again and it will have to be redone."

About £5,000 was spent on removing the flags from road markings and £1,000 on taking down flags, according to the council.

It detailed that where flags and other notices have been attached to the highway without permission, "they pose a risk as they can fall and obstruct the view of drivers" and therefore will be removed.

The St George's Cross has been painted on various road markings across England

Fellow Weston-super-Mare councillor, and North Somerset Council's cabinet member for safety in the community, James Clayton, said he had received "no complaints from residents saying they feel unsafe".

"Personally, I have no issue with people attaching St George's Flags or Union Jacks to lampposts to show their pride," he said.

"What I do see as vandalism, however, is when road markings, roundabouts, or crossings are painted over.

"This kind of action is unsafe, damages public property, and does not honour our flag when us as the public are driving over it," he added.

Mr Clayton said the flag should be "a source of pride for everyone no matter their background, heritage, or faith", adding: "It is a unifying symbol which belongs to us all and it cannot and will not be hijacked by any group."

In a statement released in August - as the flag phenomenon spread to North Somerset - the council urged people not to paint symbols over road markings, adding it was "a criminal offence to deface them under the Highways Act 1980".