St George’s flag painted amid wave of displays in England but council leader warned members of the public were putting themselves at risk
15:33, 25 Aug 2025Updated 15:34, 25 Aug 2025
Two men have been filmed painting a St George’s cross onto a mini-roundabout in Walsall amid a wave of similar displays around the country.
The men were recorded painting the roundabout with a red cross as traffic passed on Bentley Road North, in the Bentley area of the borough at around 7pm yesterday, Sunday, January 25).
They appeared to be wearing face coverings featuring the St George’s cross too.
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It’s also thought the men were responsible for painting a zebra crossing with St George’s crosses in nearby Willenhall, as a separate video of that incident also appeared on social media.
The video from Bentley was largely met with positive comments on social media. But the head of Walsall Council said it was likely that taxpayers’ money would have to be spent on painting over the cross.
Two men were filmed painting a St George’s cross on a mini-roundabout in the Bentley area of Walsall
One woman wrote “good on them, love it, come on lads”, while a second woman said: “Let’s get this done everywhere.”
A man wrote: “Same two did outside the Hayes in Willenhall. Top blokes.”
While a third woman added: “I’m from an Asian heritage but I still think this is ace. I don’t see the issue!
“Go on lads, someone’s got to represent and brighten up the place.”
Two men were filmed painting a St George’s cross on a mini-roundabout in the Bentley area of Walsall
However one man wrote “grow up” and labelled them “idiots”.
Similar campaigns have gripped large parts of the country in recent days, with St George’s and Union flags also appearing on streets.
The displays followed the appearance of flags in neighbourhoods around Birmingham earlier this month, with those responsible insisting they were ‘patriotic not racist’.
Walsall Council leader, Coun Mike Bird, said the roundabout in Bentley would likely have to be repainted over as the local authority has a “duty of care”.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, he said: “If there’s a painting on a roundabout, obviously we have a duty of care to make sure those are identified as roundabouts. Normally they are painted white.
“Obviously, it is likely we will have to send a team out to paint them over and back to their original white colour.
“The ball started rolling in Birmingham and sadly, it seems to be going on and on and on.
“But, at the end of the day, what you can’t walk away from is people showing their Englishness, their patriotism.
“But of course, a lot of this has been fuelled by media, and as a result we have just have to wait until it fizzles out, if it fizzles out.”
Coun Bird said the painting incident would be a “police matter”, saying: “I think it is very, very dangerous to stand in the middle of the road, painting onto a roundabout which is a circular area for traffic.
“Sadly, they are putting their lives in danger and no doubt putting motorists’ lives in danger. At the end of the day, it will be a police matter rather than a council matter.”
Asked if people should show their patriotism in other ways, such as hanging flags from windows, Coun Bird said: “I think there is a lot of that, I think there is a spin-off from VJ Day where people they had a feeling of a feel-good factor from flags and enjoyment around the country.
“Let’s be fair, with the current government, we haven’t got much to thank them for. At the end of the day, if it gives them a boost and makes them feel better, why wouldn’t you.
“There are those that are trying to put it over to the far-right because they hijacked the flag years ago.
“We have got to get over that and we have got to say, you go around the world and you see people flying their flags.
“At the end of the day, I think, well I hope, any connotations anything other than patriotism should be quelled.”