Manchester cemetery orders relatives to remove flags from graves

Manchester City Council has ordered that people remove all flags from their relatives' graves in Southern Cemetery in Chorlton.

Families and friends have been given until April 3 to remove the flags, or they will be taken and dumped by the cemetery staff. Town hall chiefs in the area have said that the aim of this decision is to restore the graveyard to "a quiet place of reflection", according to the Manchester Evening News. Speaking to that same publication, one man, Adam Collins, whose grandfather James Collins was a man of proud Irish heritage, has said: “My grandad was born in County Mayo and he was really proud of his heritage and being Irish. We have had a flag up ever since my grandad died. My Nan got really upset about it when she got the letter. We were disgusted. We’ve never had any complaints before. It’s not big or intrusive. We wouldn’t even mind a compromise by using a smaller flag.”