Police investigate St George's flag painted on roundabout
A video on social media appeared to show a man daubing stripes of red paint on to the roundabout in Bromsgrove, Worcs.
The video has been shared amid a growing movement that has seen members of the public display patriotic flags in towns and cities across England.
West Mercia Police confirmed that it was investigating the graffiti as criminal damage.
Insp Richard Field, of Bromsgrove Police, said: 'Painting roundabouts is not only dangerous to drivers and pedestrians, but it also amounts to criminal damage. We are working closely with partners, including Worcestershire county council, to tackle this issue and investigate where appropriate.'
At least five other roundabouts in the West Midlands have reportedly been painted in a similar way. A West Midlands Police spokesman said: 'We're aware of criminal damage having occurred, and we're carrying out further inquiries.'
On Tuesday, it emerged that Reform-led Worcestershire county council had removed the paint from the roundabout in Bromsgrove. Video posted online appeared to show a maintenance truck on the roundabout, with a council worker dressed in hi-vis cleaning off the paint.
The council said such markings could be distracting to road users. A spokesman added: 'All road markings on the county's highway network are strictly regulated for safety, including those on roundabouts of any size. Changes to agreed road markings must not be made unless approved by the Highway Authority, in line with these regulations.
'Unofficial actions on the highway network could be distracting or cause confusion to some road users so will therefore be removed.'
The council was embroiled in a row earlier this week over the hanging of patriotic flags from lampposts.
On Monday, a spokesman said St George and Union flags hung from lamp-posts in Wythall, a village south of Birmingham, risked endangering pedestrians and motorists.
But the remarks drew an angry reaction from Cllr Jo Monk, the council's leader, who said: 'I, of course, support flying both flags proudly on lampposts throughout the county.
'Our national flags are a symbol of our national pride, and I will champion any effort that celebrates our nation.'
We won't remove flags, says Reform
Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, insisted a press officer at the council had issued the statement about the flags without authority, and Reform UK later confirmed its 12 councils would not remove patriotic flags from lamp-posts.
The flying of patriotic flags in public has become a contentious issue in recent weeks. Tower Hamlets, run by the pro-Gaza party Aspire, said it would remove any St George's flags from council property, including lampposts, 'as soon as possible'.
In Birmingham, the Labour-run council – which declared effective bankruptcy in 2023 and has been grappling with bin strikes for more than five months – claimed the flags put the lives of pedestrians and motorists 'at risk'.
The authority removed hundreds of the flags from lamp-posts and other street furniture last week.
Critics have accused the two councils of 'two-tier bias' because Palestinian flags were not taken down for months after popping up in the aftermath of the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
An online 'patriotism campaign' called Operation Raise the Colours, encouraging people to hang patriotic flags across England, has gathered momentum online.
The Government has previously issued guidance saying it wants ' more flags flown, particularly the Union flag', as long as they are erected with 'the permission of the owner of the site'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Moment US woman disguised in niqab fled after failed assassination
In the video above, Aimee Betro, disguised in a niqab, attempted to shoot shop owner Sikander Ali at point-blank range in September 2019, but her gun jammed. The American woman has been jailed for 30 years for her role in a failed assassination plot in Birmingham. She was part of a conspiracy orchestrated by Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nabil Nazir to attack a rival family. Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court found Betro guilty of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol, and fraudulently evading ammunition import prohibition. Her co-conspirators, Mohammed Nabil Nazir and Mohammed Aslam, were previously jailed for 32 and 10 years respectively for their involvement.
Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour rakes record £100 BILLION of taxes in July as Rachel Reeves plots new raid on middle classes to repair 'chronically weak' public finances
Labour raked in a record £100 billion of taxes last month – but fears are growing that Rachel Reeves is coming for more with the public finances in 'chronically weak condition'. The haul - the highest ever for July - was boosted by Rachel Reeves' employer national insurance raid. However, that policy is also blamed for making it harder for firms to hire and pushing up unemployment. Ms Reeves' tax hike saw national insurance bring in an extra £2.6 billion last month compared to last year and £9.5 billion extra for the financial year to date. It helped the government bring July's borrowing – the gap between tax revenues and spending – to a lower than expected £1.1 billion. That is down from £3.4 billion in July last year. However, total borrowing for the financial year so far, from April to July, is running at £60 billion, £6.7bn ahead of 2024. Even as the tax take surges, spending is ballooning thanks to pay rises for civil servants and Britain's soaring benefit bill. Meanwhile, Britain's debt pile stands at a staggering £2.89 trillion, or 96 per cent of the size of the economy. And the cost of servicing that debt so far this year is £41 billion. Economists think the Chancellor will need to put up taxes even further at this autumn's Budget as she looks to close a gap of £50 billion to meet fiscal rules that commit her to bring down borrowing and debt. That is fuelling speculation that she could stage raids on property tax, pension lump sums or inheritance tax, or carry out a 'stealth' hike by freezing income tax thresholds. Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith said: 'With the amounts being squeezed out of taxpayers at record highs yet the Chancellor still craving more, either she quits her addiction to higher public spending or someone needs to send her to rehab.' Experts said the public finances remain fragile after U-turns on welfare reforms and winter fuel payments wrecked the Chancellor's plans and as traders in UK bonds, known as gilts, lose faith in Labour – pushing up the cost of borrowing to levels not seen since the 1990s. Meanwhile, economic growth is slowing and doubts are growing about whether Britain's dismal productivity growth – the ability to work more effectively and get more done per hour – can be restored to the levels needed to sustain a recovery. That looks increasingly likely to spell further painful tax rises in October's budget. Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: 'The big picture remains that the public finances are in chronically weak condition. 'The Chancellor faces surging gilt yields and a likely productivity downgrade from the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] in the October forecast round. 'The litany of policy U-turns has only compounded the Government's fiscal woes.' Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: 'Today's release does little to brighten the gloomy outlook ahead of the Budget later this year.' Mr Kerr estimates the Chancellor may have to raise as much as £27 billion. 'Given that she is struggling to stick to existing spending plans and we doubt the gilt market will tolerate big increases in borrowing, most of that will have to be funded by tax rises.' Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: 'The rising cost of government debt, changes to welfare reform and the possibility of a less optimistic growth forecast will very likely see tax rises introduced at the Autumn Budget if fiscal rules are to be met.' Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'Far too much taxpayer money is spent on interest payments for the longstanding national debt. 'That's why we're driving down government borrowing over the course of the parliament – so working people don't have to foot the bill and we can invest in better schools, hospitals, and services for working families.'
Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Skydiver took her own life by jumping from plane after break-up
An experienced skydiver deliberately fell to her death from 15,500ft the day after her relationship ended, an inquest has heard. Jade Damarell, 32, did not deploy her main parachute or the reserve and switched off an automatic activation device (AAD) before she crashed on to farmland near the airfield at Shotton Colliery, Co Durham, on April 27, the hearing was told. The marketing manager left instructions on the lock screen of her phone on how to access it and left notes and details of her finances in its Notes folder, the inquest heard. On Thursday, Coroner Leslie Hamilton gave a conclusion of suicide after finding that she intended to take her own life that morning. Ms Damarell, who was born in Hong Kong and lived in Caerphilly, Wales, loved skydiving and had completed more than 500 jumps. The day before she died, she had completed six jumps safely and without issues. Dr Hamilton summarised a statement from her former partner which stated that 'they had ended their relationship the night before'. The coroner did not go into further detail, except to say that they had met through a shared love of skydiving. Bryn Chaffe, co-owner of Sky-High Skydiving, from where she jumped, gave a statement in which he said he saw Ms Damarell eating toast in the base's cafe in Co Durham before she jumped and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A post-mortem found she died from blunt trauma injuries and toxicological tests were negative for drink or drugs. Her GP reported that she was not on medication at the time. A report for the coroner by British Skydiving, which investigated her fatal freefall, found that all the equipment was in working order. Ms Damarell would normally wear a camera on her helmet but did not have one on when she fell, the organisation said. She confirmed she had an AAD, which was designed to deploy a parachute if a certain speed or altitude was met, but it was later found she had switched it off. Ms Damarell was aware that she had to deploy a parachute before her altitude dropped below 2,500ft, the inquest heard. Detective Inspector Andrew Stephenson, of Durham Constabulary, attended the scene and found Ms Damarell had landed on her back. He later recovered Ms Damarell's phone and found she had left instructions on its lock screen on how to open it and to look in its Notes folder. The detective's report said she left a note for her family 'apologising and thanking them for their support'. Dr Hamilton concluded that the 'very experienced' skydiver chose not to deploy either of her parachutes or use the AAD and that she did intend to take her own life. Jeff Montgomery, head of safety and training at British Skydiving, attended the hearing and said afterwards: 'We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jade Damarell and it is an extremely tragic incident.' Her parents Liz and Andrew Samuel observed the hearing remotely. After the inquest, her family said: 'Our beloved daughter Jade was a brilliant, beautiful, brave and truly extraordinary person. 'A bright, adventurous, free spirit, she lived with immense energy, passion and love and touched countless lives with her warmth and kindness.'
