It’s happened. A Reform council has had to choose between Christmas lights and flags.

Spent twenty years climbing wooden telegraph poles and a further eleven looking after the specialist engineers who tested them to ensure they are safe to climb. That’s in addition to being accredited to deliver health and safety at work training.

No member of the public should be climbing street furniture, particularly hollow, small circumference metal street light structures with electric wires inside, to attach anything to them, period. It’s unsafe. It’s a risk to the idiots doing this and any passers-by. The fibre glass, metal and galvanised steel hollow poles which BT erected in the 1980’s had a prohibition on climbing for a reason – they did not possess the structural strength of a solid wooden pole. That’s why whenever you see anyone officially carrying out work on a street light structure, they are using a hoist (elevating platform) rather than sticking a ladder against it.

Unless these numpties sticking flags on streetlights – and I’ve seen flags attached to wooden poles carrying high voltage electric cables (the ones that have yellow labels warning ‘danger of death’ for any half wit who takes it upon themselves to climb structures carrying high voltage overhead cables) – have access to a hoist and are trained and accredited to use them, they must by definition be using ladders. Probably with no rope ties at the top and bottom to secure the ladder to the structure to stop the ladder from slipping, and certainly with no gate guards and high visibility cones and warning signs to protect and warn passing pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Councils and Councillors at whatever level (are you listening, Rotherham) giving out advice that essentially gives carte blanche to any Tom, Dick or Harry to continue this practice by temporarily removing these illegal attachments and then reattaching them at a later date (in the middle of winter when there’s ice on the ground, and maybe even the street light pole) should be personally sued to the point of destitution when the inevitable accident occurs involving an innocent member of the public. (and I’m only settling for that because firing squads are not a legal option).

By their nature, accidents can occasionally be a bit freakish. Who would have thought, for example, on November 4th 2011 that a firework display at a rugby club in the West Country would significantly contribute to multiple deaths on the nearby M5 due to a combination of nighttime dark, fog and smoke from the fireworks. But it happened. The point being that there is no way of telling from street level just how securely attached any one of these flags are. It only takes one inadequately attached flag to become detached and it could go anywhere. Into nearby trees, waste ground, adjacent properties or across the windscreen of a passing car or forty ton truck or a bus full of passengers.

With the inevitable consequences.

Somebody needs to put a rocket up the arses of these negligent Councils and Councillors.