British veteran ordered to take down Union Jack flag after neighbours complained it was 'too noisy'

An ex-serviceman was forced to remove a flagpole flying a Union Jack from his garden after neighbours complained it was ‘too noisy’.

Brian Fairfield, from Hull, East Yorkshire, raised the flag for the first time last week but within days was asked to take it down.

The 80-year-old said his landlord Sanctuary Housing had received five complaints from local residents, complaining it was an eyesore and that it made too much noise.

Mr Fairfield said: 'It’s the first time I have heard our national flag being described as offensive to look at.

'I had only managed to raise the flag five or six times before the phone rang to say it had to come down.

'We all have rights but surely mine count as much as theirs. The least my landlord could have done was to come and see me and the flag for themselves.  'It’s not causing anybody any harm.'

'I’m proud to be an Englishman and proud to have been in the forces, so I want to fly my flag, it’s as simple as that.'

Mr Fairfield says he even checked whether he needed planning permission for the flagpole, which is 18ft tall, and hangs his 5ft by 3ft Union Jack flag.

John Hanson, local head of housing operations for Sanctuary Housing, said: 'Mr and Mrs Fairfield are a lovely couple to work with, and we understand that they have the best of intentions.

'Objections were about the size of the flag and the noise it created, not the principle of flying one, and we are more than happy to help the Fairfields come to a suitable agreement with their neighbours.'

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