Wakefield Council issues statement on St George's flag paintings on road markings

A country-wide trend has seen roundabouts and road markings painted with red paint to resemble the flag of St George in what is believed to be part of an organised effort called Operation Raise the Colours.

Flags of St George and the Union Jack have also been erected on lampposts and on other public property across the country.

Joe Jenkinson, Service Director for Planning, Transportation and Strategic Highways, said: “Mini roundabouts and pedestrian crossings are marked white for safety reasons.

"The Road Traffic Act makes it a legal requirement to do this to keep road users safe.

“Anything that causes the markings not to meet the standards will need to be removed.

“This is not about being unpatriotic. It’s about making sure our roads are safe.

“Our biggest concern is the potential danger people are putting themselves in when they are painting in the road and the risk they are causing to road users.

"As well as the additional strain it’s having on the council’s budget and capacity when we have to carry out the repairs.”

Last week, council officers were verbally abused in several locations across the district as they tried to repair the road markings.

Mr Jenkison added: “Please don’t abuse the teams doing this.

"They’re doing it for your safety. No-one deserves to be intimidated when they’re working and we won’t put up with it.

"If you’re abusing our colleagues, it will be reported to the police.”

Wakefield Council and its partner Amey are also responsible for the district’s lamp posts and are again taking a safety-first approach to the current wave of people putting flags on them.

‘There are restrictions on attachments to lampposts, which are purely aimed at making sure nothing damages the lamp post or is a danger to the public’, the council said.

Mr Jenkinson added: “From a safety perspective we’re comfortable with the majority of flags currently up.

"If this changes, we’ll take the necessary action.”