Divisive flags flying in Northampton street removed by WNC following viral video watched 2.7 million times

Palestinian flags were tied to lamp posts in Wellingborough Road by an unknown group on Saturday (May 25) to show support for the nation during its conflict with Israel.

The following morning (Sunday, May 26), a gang of masked men recorded themselves on ladders taking down the flags, binning them and replacing them with St. George's flags.

The footage went viral after Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, formerly of the far-right English Defence League, retweeted the video on X to his half a million followers.At the time of writing, the video has been watched 2.7 million times and ‘liked’ 44,000 times.

Chronicle and Echo went down to Wellingborough Road on Tuesday and found that both sets of flags had been removed – but it was not confirmed by who, until now. WNC says it removed both sets of flags ‘as per council policy’.

A council spokesman said: “We were made aware of flags being erected over the weekend which have since been removed by our highways contractor. We will remove any flags attached to lampposts as per council policy and urge people not to do this as it can be extremely dangerous. Lamp columns are not designed to take any weight from ladders or people and excessive weight can cause accidents, especially as many lampposts are adjacent to roads. This is a common sense appeal for people to stop putting their lives and that of others at risk.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman added: “We are aware of this incident and continue to closely monitor the situation. Anyone in the area with any concerns is encouraged to contact us.”