Warwick's MP has said there was no need for 'flagging' across the town last year and has asked the leader of the county council whether the flags were put up illegally.

Locals woke up this morning (February 19) to flags hung from lampposts across the town centre by the group 'Raise the Colours'.

Having also temporarily displayed a banner saying 'Stopping the Boats' outside the Delta Hotel - which currently houses asylum seekers - the group moved to the town centre to erect the flags.

In response, Labour MP Matt Western has written to Warwickshire County Council leader Cllr George Finch to ask whether the group had permission from the local authority to put up the flags, as they were supposed to.

A new lamppost flag installed overnight in Warwick (image by Nub News)

"If they did not, those individuals have acted illegally and I expect the flags to be taken down immediately," he wrote.

He continued: "As we have seen in other areas across the country, these flags which have gone up without permission end up looking tatty and are not maintained. 

"Our proud flags are diminished by these acts. It reflects poorly on our town, and our flag is not flown with the respect it deserves."

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The MP for Warwick and Leamington has also written to the chief constable of Warwickshire Police.

He continued in a statement on social media: "I am a big fan of our flags, and it is great to see them flying high above many of our local buildings, like the town hall or over several local churches. 

"They are few, but they are majestic.

"What I'm less keen on is people smoking along the M40 from out of our area for Nazi protests or in this case to hang up flags which will not be maintained or looked after and end up looking tatty in our medieval town centre. 

"Any local person can tell you that Union Jacks were flying across Warwick before yesterday and looking far better than the cheap stuff we've seen put up overnight."