Council bans plastic poppies weighing a few ounces from being attached to lampposts on ‘health and safety’ grounds in case they make the lights collapse
- Residents in Manchester have slammed their local council for the decision
- Tameside District Council said the structures were ‘too weak’ to support them
- Despite the ruling, residents decided to hang poppies off trees instead
A council has banned plastic poppies from being attached to lampposts due to ‘health and safety’ concerns.
Residents in Stalybridge, Manchester are furious with their local council after they were refused permission to fix the Remembrance Day poppies, which weighed just a few ounces, onto lampposts in the area.
Tameside District Council claimed the structures were too weak to support the lightweight tributes.
One shopkeeper said he was ‘astonished’ at the ruling, especially due to the fact that similar displays were allowed last year.
Residents in Stalybridge were furious when the council said they were not allowed to hang the poppies from lampposts (stock image above)
Local residents in Stalybridge (above) have slammed Tameside District Council for the decision
Speaking to the Sun, Peter Taylor said he received a letter which stated that the council were unable to support his request to hang the poppies and that last year was a ‘one off’ to commemorate the centenary for the end of the First World War.
It claimed it had ‘stringent health and safety guidelines’ it has to contend with.
‘Including stress and push testing of lamp columns’.
They added: ‘This is a service we would need to procure and we do not have the budget for it’.
Over the last few years residents in towns and cities across the UK have been hanging the poppies from posts. One is pictured above in Wiltshire in 2016
Mr Taylor claimed he had wanted to hang the tributes from November 1 to November 10 and questioned why the lampposts needed to be ‘stress tested’ when the poppies weighed so little.
Despite the refusal by the council, residents were seen hanging the plastic poppies on trees on October 26.
They were praised on Facebook with one user stating: ‘Well done to all concerned, the Council need a lesson in humility and decency.’
This is while Parish Councillor Neil Allsopp said it was a ‘ludicrous decision’.
‘This is when we recognise the sacrifice men and women made for this country. I can’t believe the mentality behind it.
‘May they hang their heads in shame’ he added.
One local woman said that to refuse permission was ‘disgusting’. Barbara Davenport also questioned how the poppies posed a health and safety risk.
MailOnline contacted Tameside District Council.