Is £70,000 being spent on new flags in Midlands county?

Public money is not being spent on putting up British flags around Worcestershire – despite claims being made on Facebook.

A post on the Worcester Patriots page, which has 14,000 followers, says £70,000 will be spent on having “British flags and poles correctly installed on all island[s] and roundabouts throughout the Worcestershire area”.

It says the investment comes following a meeting in December.

But a spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “The council has not committed any funds for installation of flagpoles.

”Worcester councillor Andrew Cross said a meeting took place in December between a group of ‘Worcester Patriots’ and council bosses.“I am told Worcester Patriots were invited to meet, to be told to stop putting flags up on poles in a dangerous way, which [they] agreed to,” said Cllr Cross, the county councillor for Warndon Villages.

“This was focused on health and safety compliance, not on politics.

"This was arranged after a man died after falling off a ladder while putting a flag up on a lamppost in Bristol.”

At a full council meeting in September, highways chief Karl Perks said flags hung on lampposts by residents would not be removed unless there was a safety issue – and suggested the council could put up extra flags.

He said: “We are calling for an installation of robust and high-quality flagpoles and masts, designed and made right here in the United Kingdom, reflecting the craftsmanship and pride our communities deserve.

”But there was nothing in the council’s budget – approved last month alongside a record nine percent council tax hike – to suggest flagpoles were part of Reform’s plans for the upcoming financial year."