Village 'proud' to fly flags on lamp-posts

Flags flying along Nottingham Road in Codnor, Derbyshire

Over the past few weeks, St George or union jack flags have been appearing in villages and towns across the country.

The national campaign - which appears to have originated in the West Midlands - has seen flags flown from lamp-posts and even painted on roundabouts.

The movement has gathered pace on social media - under the name Operation Raise the Colours - with those behind it saying they are motivated by pride and patriotism.

Others have expressed discomfort due to tensions running high across England over immigration and the St George's cross often being used to promote far-right groups.

In the Derbyshire village of Codnor, Nottingham Road is lined with these displays.

Many of the people the BBC spoke to have echoed the view that the flags are a matter of pride.

Viv Bispham thinks the "flags are showing pride"

"They look fantastic," said Viv Bispham, who is the landlady of the Codnor Inn.

"People will say what they will about the flag, but at the end of the day, it's our national flag, and people should be proud to fly it."

Hellen Henderson, who served in the RAF, said she had a flagpole at home but not just for national flags.

"I use it for birthdays, Easter," she explained. "Sometimes I put a union jack up. Any celebration."

Others - who would not speak at length or give names - were not so happy. One woman said: "I really don't like them."

The area around Codnor has experience of far-right politics. For three years, starting in 2007, the British National Party held its annual "Red, White and Blue" festival in nearby Denby.

Kenny Bexton said he wanted to stand up as "British and proud"

One Codnor resident, Kenny Bexton, said that event had nothing to do with people living there and no link to the flags.

"To be honest, I don't think many people think of it as a BNP flag any more," he said. "It's English. It's British."

And resident Darran Furness said "over time, people's opinions and ideology has actually calmed down, and people are more open to other people of other colours, other races, other nationalities".

He added that government support for flag flying would help stop arguments over the issue.

"A flag doesn't create a culture, it's a symbol for people to actually support and be proud of," he said.

Flags flying high in Codnor

Reform's Darren Furness - who represents Codnor on Derbyshire County Council - said the government should "get behind" the campaign.

The idea the English flag was linked to the far-right "is confined to the past", he added.

He has suggested a "month of pride in the country", with an amnesty for people who fly the flag.

The Labour leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, Chris Emmas-Williams, said it was quite nice to see the flags.

Emmas-Williams, who is also a parish councillor in Codnor, said his only concern was safety, especially for the people who were putting the flags up.

Asked about possible links to the far-right, he said "if it was just the St George's cross, then perhaps".

"But there's a mixture of union jacks and the St George's cross as well. So I don't believe it's that way motivated in Codnor," he added.

In a statement, Derbyshire County Council, which is led by Reform UK, said it had "no plans" to remove flags, and Conservative leader for Derbyshire County Council, Alex Dale, said his party supported the "pragmatic stance" the county council had taken.