An Armed Forces event was nearly ruined after vandals damaged a pole flying an LGBTQ+ flag to mark Pride Month. The damage to the flag pole and its mechanism, located in Italian Gardens in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, was discovered this morning, according to councillor Ciarán Cronnelly.
He revealed that another flag pole flying an LGBTQ+ flag in a nearby park was damaged earlier this month. Both were displaying the rainbow flag for Pride Month, which runs throughout June and celebrates LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
Speaking to Metro, Ciarán, who leads Weston-super-Mare Town Council and sits on North Somerset Council, said he believes the attacks were not a coincidence. He added: 'This targeted intolerance is a stark reminder of why we continue to celebrate Pride. Tolerance remains and it's not going away any time soon.'
He explained that a council team is working with a contractor to fix the flag in Italian Gardens, which was damaged most recently, ahead of Armed Forces and Emergency Services Day tomorrow.
Cost and Repairs
The cost of fixing the mechanism is expected to be around £200, representing an 'unnecessary' expense to taxpayers, he said. 'A temporary fix is possible for the Italian Gardens flag pole, which means the Armed Forces ceremonial flag raising event at the Italian Gardens this evening at 6.30pm will go ahead,' he stated. 'But due to the nature of the damage, the flag can only stay up temporarily until a permanent repair to the flag pole has taken place.'
'Unfortunately, the damage to the flag pole at Grove Park is significant, and a temporary repair is not possible, so no flag will fly from there for the foreseeable future. To the individual(s) who cut these down and damaged the mechanisms – you may have hoped to cause division, but I can guarantee you've achieved the opposite.'
This means the flag will not fly for the day, which celebrates the work and sacrifice of the UK's armed forces and emergency services.
Avon and Somerset Police have been contacted for comment.
