Pensioner told to remove 'excessive' Diamond Jubilee flags

A patriotic pensioner who decorated his home with Union Jack flags to mark the Diamond Jubilee has been left furious after he was ordered to remove them.

Derek Birch, 72, was told he would have to take down 14 flags which he had put up outside his flat or he'd be charged for the cost of their removal.
His landlord, Flagship Housing, says the number of flags on display is "excessive" and gave Derek a week to take them down, claiming they are damaging the property.
But the pensioner says the decision is "ridiculous" and he will not remove the 3ft by 5ft flags - despite breaching the deadline.

The lifelong bachelor, of Newmarket, Suffolk, has vowed to stand his ground and take his fight to court if necessary. 
Derek, a retired civil servant, who has lived in the property for six years, said: "It is ridiculous.
"It's the Jubilee - it's only once in a lifetime. I will probably never live to see another big state occasion.
"The flags are harmless.
"All I want is to let the flags fly until the end of the Jubilee celebrations and then they will come down.
"I was born and bred in this country, lived in Newmarket all my life. This isn't the country I was brought up in, I can tell you. It's not harming anybody, putting flags out.
"It is like a dictatorship. There is no community spirit anymore.
"I am not taking them down I am standing my ground. I will defy their order. They will have to get a court order for me to take them down and then they will look really silly.
"They say the flags are damaging the property but they are not."


Derek was visited by community officers from Flagship Housing on April 27 and told he had until Friday to remove the flags.
Flagship Housing, which runs housing separate from the council, say they have received complaints about Derek's "excessive" flags and they are damaging the brickwork of the property.
But Derek says he has received no complaints and the flags, which have been up for a month, are not attached to the brickwork but kept in place with string via the windows.

A letter sent to residents from Flagship Housing following the inspection on April 27 said: "The way in which the flags are being displayed has caused damage to our property."

A spokesman for Flagship Housing said: "Two community managers visited our customer last Friday to advise Mr Birch that, due to complaints received about the flags, they would have to be removed.
"Permission had not been sought to display these flags to the outside of the building which involved fixtures to our brickwork.
"Not only were there an excessive number of flags attached to the outside of the maisonette, but the size of the flags was also an issue.
"Flagship is happy for customers to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, however, activities should not be to the detriment of neighbours and the wider community."


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