Images shared online appear to show roundabouts being cleaned after angry locals painted St George’s Cross on them amid a row over flags. One picture shows a lorry parked at a mini-roundabout with a worker appearing to remove paint from the surface in the central island.

It has not been possible to independently verify what is happening in the image. Mistaken reports circulating online said that the image shows a location in Birmingham. But the image actually shows a spot in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, which the local authority has confirmed to the Express.

It comes after red lines were painted on roundabouts in the Kings Heath and Yardley Wood neighbourhoods of Birmingham at the weekend.

Flags appeared on lampposts in Birmingham and were also spotted on the A1206 on the Isle of Dogs, east London, as part of a movement online called “Operation Raise the Colours”.

An image of what appeared to be a worker cleaning paint from one mini-roundabout was posted online by the conservative activist group, Turning Point UK.

The image was posted along with the claim: “Birmingham council can’t collect bins or fill in potholes, but they can organise cleaning our national flag off of a roundabout within 24 hours of it being painted on. Traitors”.

Birmingham has seen a weeks-long bin strike pit striking refuse workers against Labour-led Birmingham City Council in a row over pay. The local authority denied the image shows a part of the city. It actually shows the roundabout in Bromsgrove.

The appearance of St George flags painted on mini-roundabouts in Birmingham has, however, divided opinion, with some in support of the display of patriotism and others complaining it was xenophobic.

One man living near a painted traffic island in Kings Heath told the BBC it was “not patriotic” and felt “like an excuse for xenophobia”. Another unnamed man said every town and city should do it, writing “the more the better” in a Facebook post.

Birmingham City Council previously said it proudly flies the Union flag outside its HQ every day and recognises the importance of that flag and the flag of St George as symbols of national pride.

A council spokesperson said: “Brummies are proud to be British and proud that this is a welcoming city celebrating many different cultures.

“When it comes to items attached to lamp posts, it is normal council procedure for these to be removed on a regular basis, in line with our health and safety obligations.

“As has always been the case, people are free to fly or hang flags from their homes or gardens, but we ask that they are not attached to street furniture.”