Council contractor threatened after removing Saltire flags in Stenhousemuir

A self-employed council contractor was verbally abused and says his cherry-picker was damaged after attempting to remove Saltire flags from lampposts in a Stenhousemuir cul-de-sac on Friday morning. The contractor, who asked not to be named, said he had removed six or seven flags from lampposts along the street when a group of locals confronted him. He was accompanied by his two adult grandsons during the work.

Falkirk Council said it was aware of the incident and had contacted Police Scotland. In a short video recorded by the contractor, he tells one of the group that he has called the police. A man filming responds that “this is theft, there is no crime, you are not with the council.” The contractor said this was the second incident in as many weeks after being “run out of” a housing estate near Falkirk Stadium last week while carrying out the same work.

The contractor said the council advised him to bring somebody with him to avoid “word against word” if he worked alone. He described how the mob appeared “from the bottom of the road,” wearing dressing gowns and slippers. He provided some background about himself, saying he was born in Scotland but spent time growing up in England and has an English accent, and that he had returned to Scotland in his teens. During the confrontation, one of the group accused him of theft.

The contractor said he dialled 999 as advised by the council, but no police attended while he tried to maneuver his van out of the cul-de-sac. He said the crowd blocked the van, and a woman then battered the wing mirror. He said the encounter left him shaken and that he did not understand how the group had obtained his email address.

Falkirk Council said the incident was unacceptable and that the matter had been reported to Police Scotland. A spokesperson added that threatening or intimidating behaviour toward workers would not be tolerated. Police Scotland confirmed they received a report of the disturbance at about 11:20 on Friday and said no injuries were reported, no complaint was made, and officers provided suitable advice; no further police action was required. Saltire flags have been erected at locations across Scotland in recent weeks, and the activity has been linked to anti-immigration sentiment. Two weeks ago Aberdeenshire Council suspended removal of Saltire flags from lamp posts in Peterhead after workers were threatened; the Saltire flags in Peterhead remain in place.