The man said he wanted to “lift people’s spirits” with the flags.
A man said he faced a nearly £3k bill after the council removed his flags from public lampposts (Image: SWNS)
A businessman was left “disgusted” after being reportedly told he faced a nearly £3,000 bill to get back flags he had hoisted around his town without authorisation. Will Haylett, 43, said he was only trying to “lift people’s spirits” when he put up dozens of Union and St George’s flags on lampposts around Scarborough, North Yorkshire, using his company’s cherry picker. He did not expect to receive an invoice demanding £2,785.50 after workers at North Yorkshire Council took them down.
The latest row surrounding flags in UK cities and towns erupted in late October last year, and saw Mr Haylett’s firm Squeeky Clean receiving a letter from North Yorkshire Council. In the message, Mr Haylett said the council warned it had removed 64 flags “believed to be your property”, before adding that if he wanted them returned, it would cost £36.27 per flag plus VAT.
Mr Haylett said: “I was disgusted with the council. To solve the problem, I said I’d make a donation to a veterans charity instead – and they accepted that.”
He added: “I’ve lived in Scarborough all of my life. For years, I’ve been driving around and seeing local people down and depressed. I thought, what’s going on?
“I have a cherry picker, so I thought I could help lift people’s spirits by putting up a few flags here and there. It was to bring us all together and put smiles on people’s faces.”
Prior to receiving the invoice, Mr Haylett, who has run his exterior cleaning and high-level maintenance business for 11 years, said he’d had “back and forth” with the council.
Will Haylett said he wanted to ‘lift people’s spirits’ with the flags (Image: Will Haylett / SWNS)
He said: “The council wanted me to stop putting things on ‘our’ lampposts. I thought, what’s the problem?”
North Yorkshire Council said it is an offence to attach flags to lampposts without the authority’s permission and that they could pose a “safety issue”, adding some residents across North Yorkshire were feeling “uncomfortable” with the number of flags.
The council also said it was “proud” to support “big national and regional occasions by flying a St George’s Cross or Union flag”.
This comes as thousands of the flags appeared on lampposts, railings and roundabouts in towns and cities across the country last year.
But while some praised the displays as a show of pride, others branded them intimidating or politically loaded, prompting complaints and removals in several areas.
