Englands deroute....

Englishman ordered to remove English flag on front door: May 'offend' some

Painted flag of England "offensive."

A veteran of the British Army has been ordered to paint over the English flag he originally painted on his front door ten years ago, due to the possibility that the depiction of the English colors could possibly be deemed "offensive" and just may bring "distress" to neighbors, as reported by The Daily Mail (of London, England) on May 20, 2013.

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On the heels of an English town council electing not to fly the English flag on English soil during an English holiday because the flag may be "inappropriate" and "offensive" to Muslims as previously reported by Examiner.com, a veteran of Her Majesty's Forces Steven Rolfe has been notified that the depiction of his beloved St. George's Cross on his front door would have to be painted over, regardless that the English red and white has graced his entrance for the past decade.
Despite Rolfe being awarded the runner-up prize in a city council Best Kept House competition in Preston, England, the former Squaddie has been notified by an official at the Preston contracted property management firm Places for People that certain unidentified neighbors could be 'alarmed' by the English flag.
Besides the shock the mere sight of a St. Georges Cross may have on the delicate dispositions of certain individuals, the city council also gave official notice to Rolfe that the painted depiction could be considered "offensive" and may bring "distress" to neighbors.
To add insult to injury, Rolfe was also warned the door design could place him in a category of "nuisance neighbor."
Taking the threat a step further, the property management firm threatened Rolfe that unless the English colors were painted over, the veteran very well may find himself evicted.
Sorry, But It Still Has To Go...
Places for People has apologized to Rolfe for their referring to the Cross of St. George as "offensive," but haven't backed of their demand that the English colors have to go.
Sporting the impressive title of Neighbourhood Officer, Leanne Hardy gave the model tenant 14 days to repaint the door saying:

It has been brought to my attention that you have painted your front door in a way that could be considered offensive.

She also warned him that failure to paint over could mean him being in breach of his rental agreement.
Specifically, Hardy wrote:

Whilst I acknowledge that the door may well have been painted like this for some time, it was only brought to my attention recently and I did contact you as soon as it was brought to my attention.
I believe that it was an outside contractor or partner agency that commented on the door and this was fed back to me as your Neighbourhood Officer.

Using reasoning that could mean almost anything, Hardy also penned his conduct:

Breached tenancy conditions concerning those tenants who were injurious to the interests of neighbors and those who 'cause distress, alarm or interfere with the peace and comfort of any other person.'

When Rolfe had the audacity to ask permission to keep the English flag on his door, Hardy then notified him that not only was his request denied, he now had seven days to paint over the flag or face immediate eviction.