Council allows flags raised on lampposts to 'stay for now' but will be removed to make way for Christmas lights

Thousands of St George's and Union Jack flags sprung up in towns and cities across the country this summer - including in Rotherham - as online movement "Operation Raise the Colours" gained traction.

Mr Read said that while the Labour-run council had left the flags be, it now planned to take some down to allow for Christmas lights to be displayed in the town.

He said: "We can't have people going up on cherry pickers and on ladders putting Christmas lights up where there are flags flying off those lampposts.

"So if they're your flags on streetlights where Christmas lights go up, you might want to look over the next week or two at taking those down, at least temporarily while those Christmas lights go up.

"If you don't, we will have to take some of those down while we get those Christmas lights up and that Christmas celebration is taking place."

Mr Read said the council would also take down flags where there had been complaints, with removals to start over the coming weeks.

He added that a number of residents had contacted the council to say they "really didn't like" flags that had sprung up outside their homes.

"I know a lot of people who took part in the consultation were really keen to say that they were proud to see our national flags flying in our communities and I understand that and I respect that," the council leader explained.

"But we also had a number of people who contacted us to say flags had gone up outside their house, they didn't really like them being there and they were scared for their own safety if they were taking them down themselves.

"We received one picture of somebody who claimed to have put flags up who was making threats against somebody who would take them down and it just isn't good enough.

"We can't have a community where people are scared. We can't be in that kind of vigilante situation. That's not what our flag is about."

Councillor Lynda Marshall, cabinet member for street scene and green spaces at the council, previously said that any "flags or graffiti" that could cause risk to locals would be removed "as soon as possible".

She told a meeting: "The council does not permit use of public assets or the public realm for political purposes.

"Any political banner, poster, or offensive material will be removed immediately.

"Flags or graffiti that pose a risk to pedestrians or road users will be removed as soon as possible."