A WOKE council has ruined a town’s Remembrance Day poppy display — by kicking off over Union Jacks put up on lampposts.
Organisers have pulled the plug after the local authority barred wooden tributes from street lights and posts that have road signs on them.
Locals in Hoyland, Barnsley, said that would leave too few lampposts for the 396 poppy tributes on its Remembrance Day parade route.
Together they represent all the soldiers named on the town’s memorial to the dead of World Wars One and Two.
Barnsley Council updated its guidance this month to crack down on flags being put up.
It told Hoyland Remembrance and Parade Group (HRPG) to submit a detailed application ten days in advance if they wished to continue with their tradition.
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They also insisted poppies be fixed just above head height to avoid using ladders, citing health and safety concerns.
HRPG said the conditions were “impractical” and they would not be able to go ahead this year.
Chairman Robert Hill said: “I am genuinely disheartened that we will not be putting up the wooden poppies on lampposts and road signage posts lining the parade route.
“Following stipulations, Hoyland town centre, where we tended to place most of them, would be left looking bare with only the sporadic placing of poppies.
“There wouldn’t be enough lampposts left to put them all on and we cannot put one up with a name and not another, as we believe that this would be disrespectful.”
The council drew up its guidelines after what it called a “recent increase in unlicensed attachment to street lighting columns”.
A spokesman said: “Our first duty is to the health, safety, and welfare of all highway users.
“We fully support the respectful display of poppies on lighting columns as a mark of remembrance across the borough.”
Cllr Sir Steve Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said: “We appreciate Hoyland Remembrance and Parade Group’s continued commitment to honouring our fallen heroes and recognise the significance of this annual event.
“We remain committed to working with community groups to ensure such tributes can be delivered safely and appropriately.”
HRPG said it hoped to work with the council towards a solution for future years.
The Royal British Legion declined to comment.
