GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY IN YOUR INBOX SIGN UP Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A teenager’s petition to remove an EU flag from a prominent building in Stroud has failed.

Brexiteer Lee Sibley, 16, managed to get more than 1,250 signatures to remove the flag from the Ecotricity headquarters.

He was angered by Ecotricity owner Dale Vince who decided to fly the flag from Lion House, Rowcroft, in the town centre.

The 16-year-old claims the flag is offensive to veterans who signed his petition and said he is concerned for the “staff’s health and safety as it covers the windows” of the building.

Mr Vince hung the flag up on April 14 in protest at Britain leaving the European Union.

Who is Lee Sibley?

The youth is well known in Gloucestershire for starting a petition to ban homework last year when he was a schoolboy at Severn Vale School in School Lane, Quedgeley .

He has since become a political activist, creating petitions to sack Sadiq Khan, Jeremy Corbyn and Gloucester MP Richard Graham, to give Donald Trump a state visit and to stop Stroud District Council’s plans to implement 12,800 homes on the “beautiful” countryside.

Even though Lee’s petition garnered over the required amount of signatures for the local authority to address it, it was rejected by Stroud District Council.

The council's response

Patrick Arran, interim head of legal & monitoring officer, told the teenager in an email: “The council has no power to do what you are asking because no law has been broken.”

According to the government’s “Plain English guide to flying flags” (2012), flying the EU flag does not require formal consent from the local authority.

The owner of a building, Mr Vince, can fly the flag of any international organisation that the UK is a member of.

But it's an 'eyesore!' says Lee

Nevertheless, Lee thinks the flag is “absolutely disgusting” and an “eyesore”.

He said: “This flag is offending many people, including veterans who have signed the petition.

“It’s absolutely disgusting as it’s also an eyesore, not forgetting health and safety as well.”

What Ecotricity say

Ecotricity’s Head of Communications Will Gyatt said that the green energy tycoon has as much right to activism as the teenager.

He said: “If you believe in something, you should be able to do everything you want to do to get your point of view across. Dale and Lee Sibley are both expressing their point of view.

“Nobody should be afraid of expressing their view.”

He went on to commend Lee’s passion at such a young age, which he says is a trait that Mr Vince shares.

In regards to the staff who work at Lion House, he said: “We have had no complaints”.

Lee, who is a member of UKIP, said he is sad that Britain had not left the EU at the end of March and elaborated on how he believes this adversely affects veterans.

He claimed: “I believe veterans are saddened due to the fact many voted leave and of course they fought under our Great British flag and they feel voiceless.

“Many want to leave the EU and seeing this flag makes them feel uncomfortable and daunted - especially if they want to visit Stroud and live there as well.”

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Brexit increases threat of climate change, says Dale Vince

At the time of the flag being put up, Mr Vince wrote a lengthy post on Facebook explaining his reasons behind putting it up.

He wrote: “I think the EU is a great thing, if you look at the impact it's had on Britain in particular in cleaning up our waterways and beaches and stuff.

"A lot of the environmental legislation we've embraced today came from Europe, over the heads of our government."

The entrepreneur founded Ecotricity in 1996 and currently employs 700 members of staff.

The organisation specialises in selling green energy alternatives to cut down on nuclear energy usage.

He claimed that pulling out of the EU would only increase the threat of climate change as it is halting the government passing any domestic legislation and helping them 'ignore climate change'.

Lee’s petition can be found here.