Another council vows to remove England flags from lampposts during World Cup
Another council vows to remove England flags from lampposts during World Cup
Another council is quietly stripping flags from lampposts
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A council leader has vowed to have flags attached to lampposts without permission removed. Union and St George's Cross flags have been flown across the UK in recent months, as part of an online campaign called Operation Raise The Colours and more recently as a show of support for England in the World Cup.
But flying the flags has become contentious, with several local authorities removing them from public infrastructure. Cambridgeshire County Council leader, Lucy Nethsingha, said that while some people might love to fly a flag on their property or car, it was not appropriate to attach them to lampposts.
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She told the BBC putting a ladder up against a lamppost is "incredibly reckless and risks lives", adding: "We will be taking down all the flags attached without permission. We are looking at ways to prevent this in the future."
Local, Billy Crotty, who hung flags along the A1198 last year, said the council's approach was overkill, telling the broadcaster he has stopped hanging them.
Cambridgeshire is not the first local authority to take action. Legal action brought by Oxfordshire County Council led to four activists agreeing last month not to raise flags on lampposts in the county.
The council wanted to stop people raising flags near roads, which it said involved safety risks, as well as trespass and obstruction.
Oxfordshire argued that for months, flags had been placed on or near public roads without permission, despite a formal legal notice in March and pre-action legal letters sent to individuals last month.
Robin Green, acting for the council, named the four as Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen, Trudy Wells and Kevin Good.
After a short hearing on June 23 where the group represented themselves and spoke to Mr Good by phone, they agreed not to put up more flags, not to encourage others to do so, and not to obstruct any council worker or contractor taking them down.
Councils in Shropshire and Blackpool have also removed flags, citing concerns for public safety.
Operation Raise The Colours and others argue that the flying of flags from lampposts and other street furniture shows patriotism.
But others argue the flying of the Union and St George's Cross flags is a cover for xenophobia and racism.
They say flying the flags in such a way is aimed at provoking and dividing communities amid tensions over immigration.
Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
“We couldn’t believe it.”
By Ashley OrtizPublished on July 1, 2026 at 5:48 PMA somber hush fell across Charlene Jackson’s house on the morning of April 26, as her family quietly showered their 12-year-old dog, Caddie, with love. It was Caddie's final day with them, and they were all filled with grief over having to say goodbye to her the following morning.
The family was gathered around their beloved dog when Charlene’s husband suddenly entered the room, urging them to follow him into the office. He’d spotted a large, dark figure on the skylight and realized an adorable fluffy family had come to visit.
“He was working in his home office when he heard noise above him,” Charlene told The Dodo. “He looked up, and there they were! We couldn’t believe it.”

The Jacksons ran into the office and were shocked to find a mama cat curled up on the skylight with a handful of kittens, especially with the weather they’d recently had.
“It had been raining for a few days before, and it was chilly,” Charlene said. “The sun was finally out, so they must have been on the skylight to get warm.”

Without skipping a beat, the entire Jackson family rushed to help the mama cat and her babies. They initially carried a kennel, food and water onto the roof and planned to let the cats rest for a little while. But after watching one of the kittens stumble into a drainage opening, they rescued him and quickly decided to bring the feral family down to safer ground.
Thankfully, the little fluffy family didn’t put up much of a fight when being relocated.
“Mama was very friendly and allowed us to pick her up and pet her,” Charlene said. “The kittens were very frightened, but we managed to get them all, so we thought, and bring them down.”

The Jacksons made a small enclosure for the cats outside, where Mama cat could come and go as she pleased, while her kittens rested safely. But shortly after moving the little family into the enclosure, Charlene and her husband realized one tiny kitten had been left behind.
“We had Mama and 4 kittens but realized after watching the videos there were 5 kittens,” Charlene said. “We couldn’t find the 5th one anywhere. We thought it was lost for good.”
Sadly, the Jacksons didn’t find the missing kitten that night, but they promised to keep searching. The following morning, they said a heart-wrenching goodbye to their ailing dog, Caddie, then sought comfort in cuddles with their remaining senior pup, Lulu, and the little cat family.
“It felt like the kittens and mama were sent to us to help us heal,” Charlene said.
You can watch more of their rescue here:
Thankfully, less than 24 hours later, they found the missing kitten alive after surviving two days on her own in a roof gutter.
The Jacksons breathed a sigh of relief as they reunited her with the rest of the little family, convinced the cats' stressful rescue journey was finally over. But the next morning, the mama cat came racing toward Charlene and Lulu outside in a panic, proving it wasn't over just yet.

At first, Charlene thought the mama cat was hungry, so she set out a fresh bowl of food. But the mama cat ignored the food and kept scratching the Jacksons’ patio door.
“I thought it was strange, so I went out to see what she wanted,” Charlene said. “ I looked into the pen and found only 2 kitties. 3 had escaped.”

Charlene’s heart dropped. Panicked, she and her husband searched everywhere for the escaped kittens but couldn’t find them anywhere. And it seemed that the mama cat was just as desperate for their help.
“Every time we stopped or came inside to take a break, Mama scratched at the door,” Charlene said. “She was insisting we find them. She even led us up a pathway several times. It was very deliberate.”
The Jacksons followed the mama cat up the pathway, continuing to search for hours, but kept coming up empty-handed. They decided to follow Mama one last time, and she suddenly leaped from the path onto a covered pile of wood and stared at them.
“We were quiet and heard rustling,” Charlene said. “All 3 kitties were together and had fallen down to the bottom of the wood pile and were stuck. They were about 4 feet down.”

Charlene and her family took apart the wood pile until each kitten was out safely, eventually deciding to move everyone inside.

The kittens spent the next few weeks growing and playing inside the Jackson home, while Mama relaxed on one of her many new beds. Eventually, the kittens were old enough to be adopted, and two quickly found amazing homes.
At first, the Jacksons decided not to keep any of the cats, as they already had two senior dogs with deteriorating health conditions. But after losing Caddie the day after the cats’ rescue, and then their beloved Lulu a little over a month later, they realized they couldn’t part ways with the remaining cats. So, they adopted Mama and the last three kittens, whom they named Spicy, Stevie and Nicksy.

Now that Mama and her babies are officially part of the family, the Jacksons’ days couldn’t be brighter. Still healing from the heartbreak of losing their soul dogs, the Jacksons turn to the little cat family for comfort every day — and they can’t imagine life without them now.
“This family of kitties and mama have really helped us heal,” Charlene said.