Pensioner, 68, assaulted after taking down England flags | UK | News
The 68-year-old man, who said he was attacked while removing the flag from the lamppost, accused the police of abandoning the investigation early. The unnamed Norwich resident was confronted by a group of men while trying to take down the British flag in his neighbourhood, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). The 68-year-old claimed that a man and a boy around 12 years old first approached him and harassed him.
He said that after walking down the road for a while, he was cornered by four other men who arrived in a white car and began “attacking” him. “I was lying face down on the road when they hit me using the pole I was using to take down the flags and someone stepped on my head,” he said. The attack ended when a passerby intervened and called the police.
Although the 68-year-old man spotted a car parked outside a nearby house matching the description of the vehicle carrying the attackers, Norfolk Police dropped the investigation shortly afterwards.
Legal officials spoke to residents of the property and recovered the pole used in the incident, but told him the case was closed due to the suspects not being found and incriminating CCTV footage.
“An officer said there were no cameras so they would not be taking any further action,” he said. “The people at home first claimed that I attacked them. The passerby said that he could not understand exactly what happened, but he saw that they were hitting me with a stick.
“I’m really angry. Could officers fail to convict anyone of such crimes in front of CCTV?”
“We are in a situation where the right can force us off the streets with violence, but the police are standing around doing nothing,” the 68-year-old actor said. he added.
Norfolk Police said all reasonable lines of inquiry were investigated and the case will remain closed pending new information.
Union and St George flags have been seen in communities across the country in recent months as part of a campaign known as Operation Raise the Colours.
But the widespread movement has become controversial, and some local authorities have removed them from public infrastructure due to accusations of xenophobia or racism.
