A 68-year-old man who says he was assaulted while removing a flag from a lamppost in Norwich has criticised police for dropping the investigation, after officers said there was no CCTV evidence.
The man said he had his face smashed into the road and was struck repeatedly with a pole during the attack, which left him in hospital. He has asked not to be named but has shared a photograph of his injuries.
He was confronted by a group of men while attempting to take down national at around 4am on Thursday 23 October. Several flags have been hung from lampposts nearby, close to the Brook Hotel, which is being used to house asylum seekers.
Flags of division, not pride
The banners have sparked controversy, with some residents calling them patriotic symbols, while others see them as aggressive and divisive.
The man, who lives in Norwich, says he had previously gone out at night with others to remove the flags, but this time he was alone. While taking one down from a lamp post on Earlham Green Lane, he was approached by a man and a boy, about 12 years old, who shouted abuse at him.
He retreated down the road but said he was then cornered. “A white car arrived and about four people piled out and started attacking me,” he explains. “I was face down in the road while they hit me, using the pole I was using to take the flags down to strike me. And someone stomped on my head.”
The attack ended only after a passerby intervened and called police. The victim later identified the nearby house where the confrontation began, and a white car matching his description was parked outside. Officers spoke to the occupants and retrieved his pole, he says.
Victim left furious as police drop case
However, Norfolk Police later told him the case had been closed because no suspects had been identified and there was no CCTV.
“An officer said there is no CCTV so they will not take any more action,” he says. “The people in the house claimed I attacked them first. The passerby said he couldn’t make out exactly what had happened but saw them hitting me with my pole. I feel really angry. Were officers unable to convict anyone of such crimes before CCTV?
“We are in a position where the right can intimidate us off the street with violence but the police are standing around doing nothing.”
A police spokeswoman said all reasonable lines of inquiry had been investigated and the case would remain closed pending new information.
Earlier incident in Diss
The assault comes just weeks after a confrontation in Diss, when three women attempting to remove flags from lampposts in Park Road were surrounded by a group of teenagers. The women said they were shouted at, filmed, and subjected to racist abuse while trying to take the flags down.
Police were called but took no action against those involved. The women later said officers accused them of “causing trouble”, raising concerns about how such incidents are being handled.
Diss has also seen protests outside a local hotel housing asylum seekers, which appear to have emboldened those with anti-immigrant, nationalist tendencies.
James Harvey, Green Party councillor for Broadland, condemned what happened. “I can only imagine how terrified the three women in Diss must have felt when they were surrounded and pursued,” he says. “Threatening and abusive behaviour is neither acceptable nor legal. Disturbingly, the women were accused by police of ‘causing trouble’ while no action was taken against the mob that harassed them.”
At the time, he warned that without a firmer response, “it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt”. His warning has proved priescent.
Symbols of unity or intimidation?
While supporters of the so-called Operation Raise the Colours campaign claim the flags show “patriotism and unity”, critics see them as symbols of division. The displays have increasingly been linked with anti-immigrant rhetoric and far-right online mobilisation, with small groups quickly summoned to confront anyone who tries to remove the banners.
The two incidents – in Norwich and Diss – show how the campaign has fuelled fear and hostility on local streets. These are not harmless gestures of pride, but part of a movement that seeks to intimidate and exclude.
Until police and civic leaders treat this behaviour as a serious threat to community cohesion, the message the far right will hear is clear: that intimidation works, and they can act with impunity.
“Behaviour that would have been unacceptable just six months ago is now being normalised,” says Harvey. “Violence, threats and intimidation are unacceptable, whichever side you are on. Norfolk deserves better.”
Article based on a report from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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