Thousands of pounds were spent on removing St George’s crosses and flags in Reading during Operation Raise the Colours, it can be revealed.
Last summer, activists from Operation Raise the Colours came to Reading, which involved tying the St George’s Cross, the flag of England, to lampposts.
The operation also involved painting St George’s crosses on white road markings.
At one stage, a man sprayed crosses on a clothing donation bin at the Al-Majid Centre Mosque, the former Whitley Library.
This led to a widespread removal of the flags and repainting of surfaces.
Reading Borough Council has now disclosed how much it spent on these actions following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
A total of £7403.68 on clean-up operations has been spent from Friday, August 1, 2025, to the present day.
The majority of this, £6,010, was spent at the height of the Raise the Colours activism in August and September last year.
However, the council could not disclose the hours spent on the clean-up, as that work was done by its contractor.
The LDRS witnessed a Reading Commercial Services team member removing red spray paint from a speed bump in Brixham Road in September.
This involved the clean-up of bollards, bus stop post signs, miniroundabouts, utility cabinets, utility floor covers, steps of the Mosque, the side of buildings and in Callington Road.
The information officer called the incidents “attacks” in the FOI disclosure, with the Church ward in Whitley being the ‘epicentre’ of the operation.
The officer wrote: “In Callington Road, every speed hump, road nameplate, the ‘Give way’ short dotted white dashes on every junction along the stretch of road were hit.”
The following roads were mentioned in the FOI:
Hartland Road
Whitley Wood Road
Whitely Wood Lane
Swallowfield Drive area
Northumberland Avenue
Cressingham Road (mosque)
Stockton Road
Callington Road
Dawlish Road
Brixham Road
Water Road
Wokingham Road
Imperial Way
Work on the cleanup after the operation occurred at approximately 85 sites.
In one incident, street art celebrating Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer for working on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, was removed in error after a cleaner removed a cross and earlier caligraphic graffiti from a utility cabinet in Northumberland Avenue.
The cost of the operation in the summer was £5,097.25, inclusive of staff, vehicles, fuel for jet washers and various chemicals needed for
removal.
That does not include water or a management or supervision fee.
Traffic management was also used costing £1,694.96, bringing the total cost to £6,792.21.
Since the original incident, additional costs included an “attack” in Caversham Park Village costing £186.55, and an “attack” in Wokingham Road outside Palmer Park, costing £298.43 with traffic management costing £126.49.
It is legal to fly all the flags of the United Kingdom on private property without the need for planning permission.
Such flags can be seen in Cressingham Road, Buckland Road, Sycamore Road and other locations across the town.
The council has been asked why the flags were not kept up, like others across the country.
Stevenage Borough Council officials confirmed they would leave up flags that are not deemed a safety risk.
Worcestershire Council stated that it will not remove the flags from lamp-posts, but did remove St George’s Cross road marking.
In Somerset, flags and road markings have been left as well.
Explaining the reason why they were removed in Reading, a council spokesperson said: “For safety reasons, banners, signs or flags may not be attached to lampposts without authorisation from the council.
“They can compromise the safety of the public if not attached properly and can impact on visibility for road users.
“People placing ladders up against lampposts can also be extremely dangerous and result in serious injury.”
On whether the artwork for Ada Lovelace could be replaced, the spokesperson said: “Through its Street Art Working Group, the council supports positive street art.
“Initial enquiries were made with the local community development association for contact details of the original artist, but at this time, no arrangements have been made for a replacement. If contact can be made, it is something we would be happy to consider.”
