Worcester row over Union flags ends with ladder pushed to the ground

A Worcester woman was filmed arguing with two men who were mounting Union Jacks and St George’s crosses from lampposts on Kiln Crescent on September 17. The confrontation, captured on video and shared online, shows the woman on the phone with police outside her home as she tries to block access to the lamppost.

The men, who said they did not live on her estate and belong to the Worcester Patriots group, arrived on the street and began hanging flags from lampposts. The Worcester News reports that the woman intercepted them in her car before the altercation, and she later said the pair had followed her to her home in their van after she objected. The men dispute the following claim, saying they arrived to mount the flags after a donation to a GoFundMe campaign triggered a resident’s support. The GoFundMe page has raised more than £1,500 to fund flags and cable ties.

During the video, the woman tells the men that mounting the flags is racist, and at one point she says, "We won't have it." A man in the group tells her, "I think you're racist." She responds, "I think you're racist actually." The clip shows the woman standing in front of the lamppost while a man leans on a ladder; she pushes the ladder down, then repeats the move when the men replace it. The exchange escalates as she warns police are coming, while the men accuse her of assault and refuse to stop filming.

Police were called and an officer arrived as the disagreement continued. By then, the men reportedly said they would move on to another street to mount the flags because "it's not worth the aggro." The incident ended with no injuries, police said, and inquiries continue. West Mercia Police added that the presence of flags on public infrastructure is a matter for the council, not the police.

Councillor Alex Mace, who represents the St Stephen ward on Worcester City Council for the Green Party, described the incident as intimidating and noted that the woman, described as a lone mother with a child, had voiced her right to object to the display. He said, "The lady in question had come onto the estate and said we don’t want the flags here, which she's entitled to do. The people putting flags up then got in their truck and followed her." If the aim is unity, he added, it might be possible to place the flags elsewhere.

Beyond the immediate confrontation, local context has framed the issue. The Worcester Patriots’ GoFundMe page states, "We are proud to be English/british operation raise the colours let's put the great back in Britain thank you for all your support it's amazing." Supporters have donated to fund flag purchases and the hardware used to mount them. Some comments on the group’s social media posts suggested that several flags had been mounted upside down, a detail that has drawn additional scrutiny. Local Reform council guidance has instructed officials to leave any British and English flags mounted in public spaces only with permission.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said officers were called to Kiln Crescent around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. "An allegation of an assault, with no injuries, was made and enquiries are ongoing," the statement read. The force added that the presence of flags in the community is a council matter, not a police one.