Community group responds to appearance of Union flags

Union flags have been hung on lamp posts on West Street in south Bristol

Posters showing different hands and skin tones and that read "Welcome to our community" have appeared under Union Jack flags on a Bristol street.

Put up by local community group, Way Out West, it said it put up the posters on West Street in Bedminster "in support of the diverse community who live and work there".

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 are concerned they are linked to feelings of anti-immigration.

Sean Dicks, whose mum lives in the area, said: "I think the flags can be seen as divisive but I think it's just a celebration of being British no matter where you come from."

Community group Way out West attached the posters to the lamp posts

But Stef Brammar, from Way Out West, said while they "respect the Union flag", they do not feel it should be "imposed on us by an external force".

While many football fans were flying the flag to cheer on the Lionesses during the 2025 Euros, thousands more have been raised in recent weeks.

They have also been painted on signs, roundabouts, zebra crossings and even on the slate at Avon Gorge in Bristol.

Ms Brammar said the community group, made up of residents, traders and local organisations, heard the flags would be hung from lamp posts along the street earlier this week.

Operation Raise the Colours is a group that encourages people to hang St George and Union Jack flags as a sign of pride in national identity.

But Ms Brammar said she was concerned it could be seen as promoting division, rather than union.

"This is a multicultural street, with people from different nationalities living and working in this area," she said.

"We wanted to send a message of support that if these flags have been put up for reasons of division, then we don't support it."

Vanessa Robinson said she has been concerned by the flags being put up

Estelle Brown, who teaches at a local school, said that seeing the row of flags filled her with "horror".

"The school where I work is really multicultural and when we have a celebration of culture we put up all the flags to represent the nationalities of all children in the school," she said.

"I don't think the British flag in isolation delivers the right message."

Vanessa Robinson, sighed with relief when showed the posters, but said: "The thing is, I wouldn't have seen the posters if I was driving down the street.

"And I don't know if I would have stopped to read it if I was walking along.

"I would have just seen the flags and attached my original feeling to it, which is that it's about anti-immigration."

Ms Robinson said she knows of friends from other nationalities who have received racial abuse after expressing discontent with the flags on lamp posts.

Sean Dicks, whose mum lives in the area, does not see an issue with the flags

But Mr Dicks, who lives in Portishead and visits his mother on West Street often, said he enjoyed seeing the row of Union Jack flags.

He added: "The posters are a good idea. It enforces that is what it's about rather than being seen as being racist."

Another local resident, who did not want to give their name, said she did not understand how the flags could cause offense to anyone.

"I just think it's about being proud of where we come from. I think the flags look great and people need to stop putting labels on things," she said.

Councils across the West of England have said they support the right of people to fly the flags, but added crosses painted onto infrastructure and some flags hung near or on roads would be removed for safety reasons.

Patrick Topkin wants people to appreciate the contributions of immigrants

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Patrick Topkin, whose parents are Polish and who was born in Britain, said that being patriotic should also be about recognising the contributions of the immigrant population.

"If the flags were honestly put up in the hope of reuniting the country as what we really are, which is a hub for multiculturalism, then I'm all for them," he said.

"People are welcome to be patriotic if they also accept that people who haven't been in England for many generations can also call it home."