Green Party activist launches petition to remove all flags from Essex lampposts - and prosecute those who raised them

It currently boasts over 1,400 signatures.

It asks for the highways service to "immediately remove all flags from lampposts and street furniture" on "safety grounds".

"We would also like Essex County Council to prosecute any known individuals who placed these flags, or attempt to do so in the future, in an attempt to recover Essex County Council's cost of removal," the petition adds.

The justification for the safety grounds are the use of nylon ties which "degrade in sunlight".

These, it says, have left the flags "hanging on by a thread" - with some falling off "near carriageways or fallen down the lampposts obscuring road safety signs".

Another "safety" issue raised by the petition is the risk of residents putting themselves "in danger" by attempting to remove flags.

But just weeks ago, Mr Beaumont warned the e-petition system could be "politically abused".

Harlow Council prevents an e-petition being submitted if it would "substantially address the same topic" which has been covered in the last six months.

In February, the Green activist and candidate said the system could be "politically abused by bad actors" and prevent "genuine public e-petitions" from being submitted.

He called for the council to consider allowing "very low response" petitions to be resubmitted.

In response, council leader Dan Swords said the rules existed to prevent abuse of petitions.

One third of Harlow District Council wards - and all Essex County Council wards - will be contested in the upcoming local elections.

Mr Beaumont is contesting the Latton Bush and Stewards ward for Zack Polanski's Greens.

This is the final election both Harlow and Essex councils will have in their current forms, as the two-tier authorities in Essex are set to be replaced by five unitary authorities.

Patriotic grassroots activists launched the informal "Operation Raise the Colours" movement last summer, which saw Union Jacks and St George's crosses raised across the country.

Flag-raising Britons were only strengthened in their convictions after councils in Birmingham and east London pulled down the banners.

In August, Mr Polanski addressed the flag-raising by talking about colonialism.

"If a flag is being used to intimidate people, that is a very difficult conversation," he told the BBC.

"Our country's got a very problematic history with empire and colonialism, and I think we need a massive national conversation about who is England, who does it represent and actually what does our future look like?"

He went on to claim the English flag worried people concerned about its "problematic history".