'It's unpatriotic!' Residents fume at council for taking down Union and St George's flags

She said: “We proudly fly the Union Flag outside the Council House every day, and we recognise both the Union Flag and the Flag of St George as important symbols of our national identity.

“Derby City Council has taken the decision not to exercise our discretionary legal powers to remove flags or bunting that has been placed on street furniture, such as lamp posts and bridges, unless they've been a health and safety hazard.

“It is time to bring this campaign of flag flying to an end as we need to begin to clear our lampposts for future seasonal and commemorative events.”

Councillor Chambers offered anyone who had “raised a flag on public land” the opportunity to take them back before the authority began their own work. Any flags placed on street furniture from now on will need the appropriate permission or risk being taken down again.

She added: “From Monday 29 September, Derby City Council will start removing any items from public spaces and street furniture. Any left up after this date will be stored at Derby City Council.

“We've applied flexibility in our discretion in recent weeks, but going forward anyone wishing to display posters, banners, flags or similar on public land or street furniture must obtain the standard permissions.

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“As part of our statutory responsibility to keep public spaces safe and well-maintained, we will be required to remove items that have not obtained the standard permissions.”

Like many places across the UK, flags have appeared on bridges and lampposts around Derby city centre in recent weeks.

In Chaddesden, the St George’s flag lines Nottingham Road and the surrounding housing estates.

Speaking to GB News, residents there hit back at the council for the decision to start taking them down.

One man said: “Well it’s unpatriotic, isn’t it? It’s a St George's flag, it’s for the country. It's what our forefathers fought and died for.

“It's not offensive, other flags can be flown and I don't see why they should do it.

“We're proud to be British, but that doesn't mean that we're all racist or far-right.

“I welcome immigrants that come into this country, if they're deserving so, and if they want to be part of this country, and contribute towards it. It's the illegal side of it.”

A resident working at a local car dealership said: “I think it's a good thing that we've all gone round and put these flags up, I think it brings people together.

“I don't think there's many people that object to it, just the minority, but if that's what the council think they've got to do, then I'm sure they'll just crack on and do it, whatever we think.

“It was inevitable that at some stage they were going to take them down.”

Another man added: “I think it's good that the nation, not just a county, has stuck together.

“Fair enough, graffiti in islands is a bit much sometimes, but I think the government needs to listen on what the whole country's saying on what they want to do.

“They [Derby City Council] are going to do what they want to do, you’ve just got to go ahead with it and let them do it.

“It'll be a shame to have them go down because it's, British patriotism and stuff like that, it looks good while you're going around.”

After the announcement from the local authority, Derby City Councillor, Sarah Chambers, said she had received a rape threat.

This afternoon, a spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said they had received reports of a public order incident and investigations were ongoing.