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People flying George Cross or Union Jack on lamp-posts face being sued or jailed
While councils continue to count the cost of cleaning St George's Crosses from roundabouts, people held responsible for putting flags up on lampposts could be massively impacted
Folk who fly the George Cross or Union Jack on lamp-posts and bridges face being sued or even going to jail. Criminologist Theodore Martin says “lawsuits and criminal proceedings are inevitable”.
Health and safety specialists say flags could break free and cause road accidents. Crime specialist Mr Martin said “flaggers” could be breaking at least five laws.
He said: “Patriotism and protest is well and good, but attaching a flag on a windy motorway bridge is a high-risk behaviour from a legal perspective. It would only take one night of high winds and an insufficiently secured flag to cause a serious accident.
“I’m amazed people haven’t realised this yet,” he added. Mr Martin, from Free Grants for Felons, an organisation that helps former criminals access grants and financial support, said flaggers could fall foul of laws including the Highways Act 1980, the Road Traffic Act 1988, the Criminal Damage Act 1971, the Health and Safety Act 1974 and other legislation.
While victims of accidents caused by flyaway flags could make civil claims for damages, said Mr Martin. He added: “What we’re seeing now is competitive flag raising, where one group will fly flags in the same area that others have raised theirs.
“So we’ve got locations near busy roads and junctions with large amounts of flags, competing for attention," he continued. "I believe lawsuits and criminal proceedings are inevitable, unfortunately.
“It will only take one accident and the people who put these flags up could be liable. I’ve seen a lot of videos of people attaching these flags and some of them seem far from secure.”
Free Grants for Felons’ research, analysing Google shopping data, found a surge this summer in Brits buying cheap, low-quality flags - often made in China. Mr Martin said: “Proper flags that hang on Government buildings are designed to withstand the elements.
“There’s a reason [why] official flags are quite expensive - cheap replicas ordered online will tear and come loose.” He went on: “With the amount of surveillance in the UK, plus the volume of video content of people raising flags published online, it shouldn’t be too hard to identify the people involved, if their actions lead to an accident.”
Meanwhile the fallout from roundabouts being painted with St George's Cross continues, after local councils revealed how much money they will be shelfing out to clean the paint off the road. Dorset Council revealed last month that around £3,500 would have to be spent in rectifying the roundabouts.
As well as this, Birmingham City Council urged members of the public who were preparing to attach flags to lampposts to avoid doing so, as it would be breaking the law. They added that any flags raised by locals on lampposts would be taken down as soon as they were alerted to it.
Daily Star Sunday
While councils continue to count the cost of cleaning St George's Crosses from roundabouts, people held responsible for putting flags up on lampposts could be massively impacted
Folk who fly the George Cross or Union Jack on lamp-posts and bridges face being sued or even going to jail. Criminologist Theodore Martin says “lawsuits and criminal proceedings are inevitable”.
Health and safety specialists say flags could break free and cause road accidents. Crime specialist Mr Martin said “flaggers” could be breaking at least five laws.
He said: “Patriotism and protest is well and good, but attaching a flag on a windy motorway bridge is a high-risk behaviour from a legal perspective. It would only take one night of high winds and an insufficiently secured flag to cause a serious accident.
“I’m amazed people haven’t realised this yet,” he added. Mr Martin, from Free Grants for Felons, an organisation that helps former criminals access grants and financial support, said flaggers could fall foul of laws including the Highways Act 1980, the Road Traffic Act 1988, the Criminal Damage Act 1971, the Health and Safety Act 1974 and other legislation.
While victims of accidents caused by flyaway flags could make civil claims for damages, said Mr Martin. He added: “What we’re seeing now is competitive flag raising, where one group will fly flags in the same area that others have raised theirs.
“So we’ve got locations near busy roads and junctions with large amounts of flags, competing for attention," he continued. "I believe lawsuits and criminal proceedings are inevitable, unfortunately.
“It will only take one accident and the people who put these flags up could be liable. I’ve seen a lot of videos of people attaching these flags and some of them seem far from secure.”
Free Grants for Felons’ research, analysing Google shopping data, found a surge this summer in Brits buying cheap, low-quality flags - often made in China. Mr Martin said: “Proper flags that hang on Government buildings are designed to withstand the elements.
“There’s a reason [why] official flags are quite expensive - cheap replicas ordered online will tear and come loose.” He went on: “With the amount of surveillance in the UK, plus the volume of video content of people raising flags published online, it shouldn’t be too hard to identify the people involved, if their actions lead to an accident.”
Meanwhile the fallout from roundabouts being painted with St George's Cross continues, after local councils revealed how much money they will be shelfing out to clean the paint off the road. Dorset Council revealed last month that around £3,500 would have to be spent in rectifying the roundabouts.
As well as this, Birmingham City Council urged members of the public who were preparing to attach flags to lampposts to avoid doing so, as it would be breaking the law. They added that any flags raised by locals on lampposts would be taken down as soon as they were alerted to it.
Daily Star Sunday