Vicar's anguish as thieves make off with church flag

The Union Flag at Holy Trinity Church on Station Road, South Shore was stolen amid celebrations of the Queen’s birthday this month.

Tracy Charnock, vicar at Holy Trinity, said: “They smashed the bottom of the flag pole in order to lower it and take the flag.

“People are really disappointed.

“It’s used to mark special occasions. We raise it for the official birthday of the Queen and other notable events that show our nation in a good light. We are here to serve the community and it’s very sad that people would make off with our flag.

“We are at the heart of the community in South Shore.”

The Union Flag is flown by the church to commemorate several national events throughout the summer months, including Coronation Day on June 2, the birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh on June 10, and the official celebration of the Queen’s birthday on June 17.

The church community first noticed the flag was missing on June 19, and the theft was reported to police.

Tracy said: “Whoever has done this must have known what they were doing as they have broken the pole and lowered the flag.

“We are raising funds to get a replacement flag, but obviously we need to repair the flag pole first. The community has beem extremely supportive.

“People are giving generously and hopefully we will have a flag for the next time we need it.

“We will need a flag for remembrance time to pay our respects.

“I was very disappointed to discover that somebody had stolen our flag, but we will bounce back and make sure we have a flag to fly to represent our community and our nation.”