HUDDERSFIELD Town Hall’s Union flag is looking shabby, it is claimed.

Paddock man Terence Geary, 66, noticed the town hall’s flag wasn’t looking its best.

But Mr Geary said when he approached town hall staff about the tatty Union flag they weren’t interested in his concerns.

He said: "It’s torn and I’ve got a bigger handkerchief.

"Bradford Town Hall has two Union flags and they’ve also got two more on each side.

"Huddersfield’s is dirty and you can hardly see it really.

"It would be great if they could get a bigger one or at least a clean one, but I was told the flag pole wasn’t big enough to hold a bigger one."

The Examiner has received complaints about the flag before.

Last year Derek Biddle from Scholes wrote in to bring attention to the tiny flag.

He said: "What a puny little thing it is.

"Did the council get it from a pound shop? It is not a standard size for that flagpole.

"I suppose the council thinks ‘Not too big in case it offends people’."

But a spokeswoman for Kirklees Council said the size of the flag was nothing to do with offending people and was down to the health and safety implications of having a large flag flying in all weathers at all times.

The spokeswoman said the council began using smaller "storm flags" after a flag pole snapped at Dewsbury Town Hall early in 2007.

No-one was hurt in the incident, but a smaller storm-proof version was put up as a precaution.

It is known that large flags can get wrapped around the poles causing them to weaken and sometimes fail.

Larger 2.5 yard flags are only flown on special occasions such as the Queen’s birthday on April 21, Coronation Day on June 2 and Remembrance Sunday.

Clr Christine Stanfield, joint Cabinet member for Regeneration, environment and Transport, said: "The Dewsbury flag pole snapped in March 2007.

"In September 2007 a full audit was carried out by APS, a flagpole specialist, on all the town hall flag poles.

"Their report gave the maximum size of flag which could be flown at each town hall.

"It is the practice in Kirklees to fly flags all the time and therefore it was recommended that storm flags were flown.

"New storm flags for Huddersfield are currently being ordered."

The council had another flag headache later in 2007 when its caretakers were banned from climbing on to the rooftop to reach the pole were the Union flag was flying.

The caretakers had to squeeze through a narrow window to get out and then walk the length of the building on duckboards.