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A defiant villager has told how he faced death threats and vile abuse for weeks for daring to take down Union flags put up by outsiders near his home in Alvechurch as he urged people to 'open their eyes'. In the latest targeted attack, his face has been emblazoned across a set of St George's Cross flags with the caption 'This Is England' and hung up near his home. Concerned neighbours have taken most of them down and told him 'we've got your back'. READ MORE: 'How the flags make us feel' by Brummies determined to unite the city He has been buoyed by the support, with one teenage migrant living in the village writing to him: "Because of you I feel safer...I felt alienated going outside, I thought the place I called home hated me." A neighbour in her 80s said of the flagger movement: "This is not what my father fought under this flag for." Comments like these have strengthened the resolve of the father of two. He has been warned by the police of 'credible threats' against him and has had to take extra security measures at home. As a result we are not using his name. The flags bearing his face are a new move by his critics. "Online some have tried to pass this off as 'banter' and the abuse I have received as 'trivial'. But there is nothing friendly about this," he told BirminghamLive. "The impact it has had on me and my family is far from funny, it's intimidation and it's been going on for weeks. But these bullying tactics won't succeed. "It has made me more determined, not less, to be out there and support community initiatives and do my bit to bring people together to share experiences, learn about each other and work together." The saga started in the summer when 'raise the colours' groups started putting up flags in nearby communities. "I silently made a vow that if they came to Alvechurch I would take them down," he said. "I love my flag, but I was very keen that they didn't use my village to make their political points. I do not buy this claim that this is a neutral act of patriotism. "The people behind this campaign are politically motivated, and in some cases they are grifters as well, taking in donations and running a business operation they can make money from. Some involved probably think this is all innocent, others are clearly bad actors. "I was determined I would not stand by." When flaggers finally turned up in Alvechurch one night, the dad took up a long step ladder and created a cutting device fashioned out of a chisel and a decorating pole to remove the cable ties. He acted in broad daylight and was quickly spotted, followed and filmed. At one point he was surrounded by a group of people outside the local pub, some of them hurling abuse. Later a short extract of one video was shared on the Facebook group of a far right affiliated group with 250,000 followers. It included his name and location and triggered an avalanche of abuse and threats. He was labelled a 'nonce' and 'a traitor', among a barrage of slurs, with 17,000 comments added. A local village Facebook group also featured the video and 'invited comments'. He says the majority supported his actions but a significant number did not. Police visited his home soon after to warn him that a 'credible threat' had been received against him and his family from persons of interest. He says he does not intend to take down more flags, declaring that is something the authorities should be doing and that the flag groups would just return anyway. "This tit for tat nonsense is pointless, eventually someone is going to fall or get hurt," he added. He also fears that any confrontations embolden activists and helps foster their divisive narrative. But he said he had chosen to speak out now because people need to 'wake up' that this is not innocent patriotism. "This does show what happens if you dare to stand up to these people. They call themselves patriots, but putting up cheap plastic flags everywhere, often upside down, and abusing anyone who refuses to fall in line isn't doing good for our communities and our country." The experience had brought together villagers like him who want to make life better for everyone living locally, with a new initiative now under way to support community cohesion, he said. A first meeting took place this weekend, November 1. The aim is for existing niche and special interest groups for young people, families, elders, sports players, cooks and arts and crafts groups to join forces more regularly and swap experiences to foster understanding and to support schemes including the village foodbank and charities. "I hope this will be a catalyst for our community coming together more, participating more, and getting to know each other outside our narrow circles," he said. "That includes people who strongly support the flags as well as people who don't. We need to understand what people are so angry about, on both sides." Plans are also being mooted for a unity mural to go up at the entrance to the village. The 41 year old welled up as he shared a message sent to him by one local teenager who had contacted him via her parents to thank him for his stance. She wrote to him: "When I saw the video of you taking down the flag it made me feel so much safer. Both my parents are not from this country...I grew up with a lot of racism....I was so sad seeing the flags. I thought in 2025 everyone would be more accepting. "I felt alienated when I went outside...I thought the place I called home hated me. "When my mum showed me the video of you taking down the flag I was so happy, proud and such an overwhelming sense of relief. "Seeing the threats and how those silly people made fun of you broke my heart. I felt horrible for you and I told my mum we needed to make you a cake! I had to let you know how thankful I am for what you did, please stay safe!!!" A woman in her 80s whose father had fought for his country said it was disgraceful. He said he had been sent dozens more messages of support and friendship from across the community. Union and St George's Cross flags have returned to the village since his intervention. Some have gone up this week at the top of lampposts, ensuring DIY vigilantes can't easily cut them down. The local council have told residents the flags, deemed 'unauthorised attachments', will come down when Christmas lights go up after Remembrance Sunday. The village, which has a B postcode, is in Worcestershire and is a popular commuter location around 11 miles south of Birmingham city centre . It has a predominantly white British population (around 95% of its around 6,000 residents) while around one in 20 are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Several Ukrainian refugee families also now live in the village. It comes under Bromsgrove District Council and its MP is Conservative Bradley Thomas. Thomas, MP for Bromsgrove and the Villages, said: “I of course condemn the intimidation the resident has endured. Whilst we may have differing views on displaying our national flags, they should not be subjected to threats and abuse. We are so much better than that as a country. “A British flag flown for the right reasons - for joy, for unity, for love of country - is a deeply moving demonstration of patriotism that should be celebrated. “The problem does not lie with the flags themselves, but with the corrosive narrative that has been allowed to dominate. For too long, they have been tainted by association with extremism, racism, and division...but our flags do not belong to fringe groups; they belong to the nation. “...To perpetuate the notion that our flags are offensive, simply because a minority has distorted their meaning, is to hand victory to those very groups. It is to concede to division and invite further discord." Anti racism campaigners have spoken up about the experience in Alvechurch and say others who don't support the flags project are also being targeted. John Cooper, of Birmingham Stand Up To Racism, and organiser of a Brum Together statement of unity, said: "Threats and intimidation have no place in our communities. Targeting someone and their family for speaking or acting according to their conscience is unacceptable. We stand in full solidarity with him. "Many people do not want their neighbourhood covered in a sea of flags but know if they speak out or attempt to remove flags they risk reprisals. This is not patriotism, it is the politics of division. It is part of a political campaign aimed at scapegoating migrants."
