The man has accused police of “doing nothing” after the force insisted they had exhausted all possible lines of inquiry.
The pensioner said the attack happened while he was taking down a flag in Norwich (Image: Getty)
A 68-year-old man who says he was assaulted while removing a flag from a lamppost has accused the police of prematurely dropping the investigation. The unnamed Norwich local was confronted by a group of men while trying to take down an English flag in his neighbourhood, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). He was first approached by a man and a boy of around 12-years-old, who shouted abuse at him, the 68-year-old alleged.
After walking a distance down the road, he claims he was cornered by four other individuals who arrived in a white car, he said, and began “attacking” him. “I was face down in the road while they hit me, using the pole I was using to take the flags down to strike me, and someone stomped on my head,” he said. The attack ultimately ended when a passerby intervened and called the police.
Flags have been raised across the country in recent months as part of Operation Raise the Colours (Image: Getty)
Although the 68-year-old identified a car matching the description of the vehicle that carried his attackers, parked outside a nearby home, Norfolk Police dropped the investigation shortly afterwards.
Law officials spoke to occupants of the property and retrieved the pole used in the incident, but told him the case had been closed because of a lack of suspects and incriminating CCTV footage.
“An officer said there is no CCTV so they will not take any more action,” he said. “The people in the house claimed I attacked them first. The passerby said he couldn’t make out exactly what happened but saw them hitting me with my pole.
“I feel really angry. Were officers unable to convict anyone of such crimes before CCTV?”
“We are in a position where the right can intimidate us off the street with violence but the police are standing around doing nothing,” the 68-year-old added.
Norfolk Police said all reasonable lines of inquiry had been investigated and that the case will remain closed pending new information.
Union and St George’s flags have appeared in communities across the country in recent months in a campaign known as Operation Raise the Colours.
However, the widespread movement has become contentious and several local authorities have removed them from public infrastructure amid accusations of xenophobia or racism.
