Killjoy council axes England World Cup flags from lampposts - saying only 'safe and inclusive' displays will make the cut

A killjoy council has axed England World Cup flags from lampposts, saying only "safe and inclusive" displays will make the cut in future.

Cambridgeshire County Council announced it will take down all Union Jack and St George's flags fixed to lampposts without proper authorisation.

The flags have been appearing throughout England over the past 12 months and are now appearing up and down the country to back England during the World Cup.

Council leader Lucy Nethsingha started off by appreciating the patriotic show of support in her county, adding it was "fantastic" to witness such support for England.

However, she stressed any such expressions must occur "in a safe, inclusive way and with permission".

The Liberal Democrat-led authority confirmed it is also searching for methods to prevent future unauthorised flag installations on public infrastructure, including lamposts.

Billy Crotty, who attached hundreds of flags to lamp-posts along the A1198 near Bassingbourn last year, dismissed the council's approach as "overkill".

The council had previously taken down his display on that stretch of road as Mr Crotty admitted defeat and let "things run their natural course".

"We did it when we did it, it had maximum impact, (and) they looked nice. The council's decided to take them down, but we always said we'd take them down anyway," he said.

He added: "You don't leave Christmas lights up all year, so they weren't something we were just going to leave up indefinitely."

Meanwhile, Ms Nethsingha argued the process of installing flags poses serious dangers to the public.

"Simply putting a ladder up against a lamp-post is incredibly reckless and risks lives," she told the BBC.

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She stressed that displaying items on private property was perfectly acceptable, but warned that public lampposts were a different matter.

"While some might love to show a flag on their own house or car, it's not appropriate to attach them to a public lamppost," she said.

The council does permit attachments to lampposts, but only through a strict approval process that considers loading requirements and existing fixtures.

Officials are now developing measures to deter future unauthorised installations.

And Cambridgeshire is not alone in taking such measures against unauthorised flag displays during a moment of patriotic pride.

The High Court granted an injunction last week banning individuals from hoisting flags near roadways in Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire County Council supercharged its legal battle to ban raising British flags on lampposts, attempting to block the Raise the Colours group from hanging the flag in a bid to "protect" its residents and "values".

It says it carried one out over incidents which included "trespass, obstruction of the highway, and incidents where council teams, contractors and residents have faced confrontation or harassment".

The council named four specific members of the patriotic group to prevent them from hanging the flags, which will also apply to any members of the public who show their national pride and put up flags near roads.

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