Residents who attach Union and St George's flags to lampposts and street furniture without permission could be prosecuted, a council has confirmed. However, activists putting up the flags have insisted that their campaign remains entirely peaceful and lawful.

Shropshire Council stated its legal pivot follows a sudden surge in threats, harassment, and severe intimidation directed at everyday residents, highway contractors, and local councillors. Workers were tasked with removing the unauthorised displays due to growing health and safety hazards. In a full council meeting on Thursday, portfolio holder for highways and environment, David Vasmer, explained that gathering and preparing evidence for criminal prosecution under the Highways Act 1980 takes time, but teams will systematically begin removals in Shrewsbury before expanding across the wider county.

Mr Vasmer said: "Removing flags is not normal council business, it is not a statutory service, and therefore it comes at an additional cost to the council and its residents."

He emphasised that displaying the national flag is by no means a hate crime, adding: "We have never suggested that it is, but what we do not support is the unauthorised attachment of flags or any other objects to street lighting columns, highway infrastructure or other public street furniture due to health and safety issues, damage and costs to residents, nor do we support or tolerate the abuse of our staff and members."

The enforcement update has heavily inflamed an ongoing, nationwide dispute that has simmered since last summer.

Across the country, grassroots groups have mounted thousands of flags on street furniture and roundabouts - a campaign that supporters brand as passive civic pride, but critics and other local authorities have heavily condemned as a politically charged, anti-immigration tactic to mark out local territory.

Financial strains have further complicated the dispute. The local authority previously revealed that clearing loose and storm-damaged flags from streetlights cost the public purse roughly £13,000.

In response, local organisers hit back by publicly offering to maintain and take down damaged flags for free to save public money, claiming the council's refusal of the offer proves the crackdown is ideologically driven rather than financial.

The campaign group, Raise the Flags Shrewsbury Plus, relies on thousands of pounds in crowdsourced public funding via its GoFundMe page.

In a defiant statement posted on GoFundMe on May 7 detailing their compliance and daily operations, the group declared: "We must be clear that throughout May, we have been informing the police when we are out carrying out activity.

"We have also been providing cones and ensuring a traffic management steward is present at all times. Over the last two weeks, we have sought proper legal advice and thankfully now have professional guidance to ensure we remain within the law at all times."

The group also directly challenged the wave of online criticism they have faced, stating: "People can continue with the hate and accusations, but the simple fact is this - if it is acceptable for others to remove flags, then there can be no objection to us lawfully putting them up."

Addressing the growing legal battle and confusion surrounding ownership of the arterial roads around Shropshire, the group revealed its legal representative has now sent further emails regarding the A49, A5 and other maintained roads.

The group stated: "The email being shared around online was sent before our legal adviser became involved and was in response to what we believe became excessive and harassing levels of emails being directed at the Highways Agency. Again, anything removed from routes where legal permission has been granted will be reported as theft."

Volunteers continue to defend their wider actions by highlighting their local charitable efforts. The group has taken to repairing local potholes, donating winter heating funds to vulnerable residents, and providing toys and games to nearby hospitals and care homes.

It insisted: "We want to be absolutely clear: we do not support racism, extremism, or fascism of any kind-there is no place for that here."

However, public reaction across social media and community forums remains completely fractured. While some residents view the prosecution threat as an authoritarian, "anti-British" overreach, others have expressed deep relief.

Those in favour of the crackdown argue that the unmaintained plastic displays rapidly deteriorate into shredded litter, block critical lines of sight for motorists at busy roundabouts, and foster an unwelcome, tense atmosphere in local neighbourhoods.

As the council pushes ahead with its prosecution plans, it has also applied for community safety and cohesion funding from the Home Office.

The authority intends to use these grants to launch a community project where local youth can design official, authorised heritage flags to fly alongside appropriately displayed national symbols. With both sides dug in and legal lines officially drawn, the bitter community row shows no sign of quietening down.