An autistic young patriot has been ordered to remove two flagpoles bearing a Union Jack and a British Army flag from outside his flat by the council over fears they could cause offence.
Declan Layton, 21, was astounded when an official from Citizen Housing, along with two police officers, descended on his flat earlier this month.
They said that the flags would have to go because they are flying from a communal garden in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
The garden serves eight flats on the Oatfields estate and the flagpoles are tucked away at the end where Declan lives with his father and girlfriend.
He said: ‘Nobody around here has ever had an issue with my flags. I have even had veterans telling me it makes them feel good to see them blowing around in the wind.
‘I just really like flags. I find them really relaxing and it helps with my autism. I just don’t understand why anyone would make me take them down.
‘I have not damaged anything. I have simply put a hole in the earth and raised a flag to represent our country.
‘Why this required police to come along I just don’t know. Surely they must have something more important to do.
‘If it was a Ukrainian flag or a Palestinian one, I don’t think there’d be an issue at all.’
The 21-year-old had hoped to join the armed forces having served eight years in the army cadets.
‘I had poor mental health,’ he said, ‘so that was not possible but I still wanted to do something to show my support.’
In August 2022, he bought two flagpoles, concreted them into a corner of the communal garden by his flat and hoisted up the Union Jack.
‘I put the Union Jack on the taller flagpole and then rotate other flags on the shorter pole,’ he said.
‘According to army protocol, the national flag should always be highest, and I keep to that.
‘Currently, I have the British Army flag on the lower pole, but I have lots of others which I use on different occasions such as the RAF flag, the NATO flag and the Stars and Stripes.
‘There is a low light on the top of the pole, so they glow very slightly at night-time but it goes off at 2am.
‘They are not bothering anyone. I even take them down in stormy weather to make sure they cause no nuisance.’
His flag collection is an eclectic mix including a Vietnam flag, one from Cambodia, another from Ghana as well as Greece, Portugal, Liverpool FC, Morocco and the Canary Islands.
He has turned it into the @flag.sergeant TikTok account which has already several hundred followers.
spoke to residents in the area, including all those who shared the communal garden with Declan and none had any objection.
One Mum, who lived in the flats with her two children, said: ‘It really does not bother me. I can understand there might be an objection if it was out the front but this is just where people hang their washing.
‘They have been there for years. I have never heard anyone complain so I don’t think it’s fair to make a big issue out of it.’
Student Lewis Clarke, 17, who also shares the garden, added: ‘I don’t see why they are doing this. I have never heard anyone complain.’
And another resident, aged 37, who asked not to be named said: ‘I can see why they say it should not happen because it is a communal area but it has never been an issue so why make it one?’
To add to the apparent unfairness, just 10 yards from Declan’s neat flagpoles is another back garden bedecked with flags, including one from the computer game ‘Brotherhood of Steel’.
They belong to Alex Morrell, 34, but his are allowed because his garden is private.
And between the two gardens is a tree draped with four flags and two bollards stuck incongruously between its branches.
‘Now that is an eyesore,’ said one neighbour, who asked not to be identified. ‘Why don’t the Council do something about that rather than picking on the neatest of all the flags?’
Alex Morrell is definitely on Declan’s side.
He said: ‘I usually have the Stars and Stripes flying because I love America.
‘Hearing what has happened to Declan make me feel we are living in a dictatorship.
‘It really annoys me because they are not causing any harm, they are just celebrating our country.
‘In America no-one gets in trouble for flying their national flag. I don’t know why we are like this in Britain. I think if we put more flags up we’d be less miserable as a country.
‘This is just one housing officer who wants to act like a dictator.’
Another local resident, Nick Holden, 40, said: ‘It doesn’t bother me. If a Jamaican guy wants to fly his flag, or a Pakistani wants to fly their flag, good luck to them.
‘I see Palestine flags all over the place so this seems like double standards. They should leave our flag alone.’
And Mike Galloway, 66, said: ‘The flags have been there for ages. I don’t know why they are taking action when it’s a Union Jack, an inclusive flag.’
His friend Cathy Ward, 52, added: ‘I have never heard any local residents having an issue with the flags that are up the pole. They look neat, they aren’t hurting anyone.’
But despite all the local support, Declan feels he will be forced to remove his flags.
‘They told my Dad that they would write and give an ultimatum about the flags,’ he said.
‘They will threaten us and my Dad has said they will have to go. It will make me sad and I think it is totally unfair.’
Director of Housing Care and Support at Citizen, Peter Gill, said: ‘We have been made aware of two flag poles which have been cemented into the ground without permission in the communal gardens at Oatfields Trent Close, Droitwich.
‘As this is communal land and not part of the property which Mr Layton rents from us, we have asked him to remove these.
‘Our communal gardens are shared between our customers and therefore we do not allow items such as flags, greenhouses or sheds belonging to one customer on the land.’