The person mentioned he needed to “raise individuals’s spirits” with the flags.
A person mentioned he confronted a virtually £3k invoice after the council eliminated his flags from public lampposts (Picture: SWNS)
A businessman was left “disgusted” after being reportedly instructed he confronted a virtually £3,000 invoice to get again flags he had hoisted round his city with out authorisation. Will Haylett, 43, mentioned he was solely making an attempt to “raise individuals’s spirits” when he put up dozens of Union and St George’s flags on lampposts round Scarborough, North Yorkshire, utilizing his firm’s cherry picker. He didn’t count on to obtain an bill demanding £2,785.50 after staff at North Yorkshire Council took them down.
The newest row surrounding flags in UK cities and cities erupted in late October final yr, and noticed Mr Haylett’s agency Squeeky Clear receiving a letter from North Yorkshire Council. Within the message, Mr Haylett mentioned the council warned it had eliminated 64 flags “believed to be your property”, earlier than including that if he needed them returned, it will value £36.27 per flag plus VAT.
Mr Haylett mentioned: “I used to be disgusted with the council. To unravel the issue, I mentioned I might make a donation to a veterans charity as an alternative – and so they accepted that.”
He added: “I’ve lived in Scarborough all of my life. For years, I have been driving round and seeing native individuals down and depressed. I assumed, what is going on on?
“I’ve a cherry picker, so I assumed I might assist raise individuals’s spirits by placing up a couple of flags right here and there. It was to convey us all collectively and put smiles on individuals’s faces.”
Previous to receiving the bill, Mr Haylett, who has run his exterior cleansing and high-level upkeep enterprise for 11 years, mentioned he’d had “backwards and forwards” with the council.
This comes as 1000’s of the flags appeared on lampposts, railings and roundabouts in cities and cities throughout the nation final yr.
However whereas some praised the shows as a present of pleasure, others branded them intimidating or politically loaded, prompting complaints and removals in a number of areas.
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