Hotel angry at Union Flag protest

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A north Wales hotel owner says she is angry at attempts to make her take down the Union Flag outside the building.

Ruth Barnett removed the flag from Carreg Mon in Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, after complaints, which led to protests from people who wanted it to stay.

She has now put it back alongside the Welsh dragon flag.

The local community council said it wanted the flags moved to a spot so they represented "the hotel's welcome rather than the village's welcome".

Ms Barnett took over the hotel six months ago, and said she immediately became the subject of a campaign involving calls, letters and e-mails demanding the removal of the Union Flag, which flew at the same height as the Welsh dragon.

It really makes you think, 'Why bother? Ruth Barnett, Carreg Mon Hotel

She said: "We removed the flag because it got so bad, and I just said 'enough's enough'. So we just put up a flag that said 'hotel' alongside the Welsh dragon.

"Then the phone calls started from the other side (saying) 'How dare you take down the Union Jack?' ".

She said it stayed down for a day, before being reinstated.

The 400th anniversary of the Union Flag was on 12 April, 2006

"I've got a great team of staff, a lot of whom are first language Welsh, and they have worked really hard. We don't discriminate against anybody," Ms Barnett added.

"But it really makes you think, 'Why bother?' "

The issue has also been debated on websites, where some protesters have posted complaints they have sent to Ms Barnett, whose hotel is just off the Britannia Bridge leading onto the island.

An unnamed objector on one website said the appearance of the Union Flag as their first sight of Anglesey undermined the "strong and proud Welsh identity" of an island known as Môn Mam Cymru, or "Anglesey - the mother of Wales".

The protester also complained that "flying the Union Jack is a very old fashioned and unpopular concept in modern day Wales," while the Welsh dragon was a "modern, inclusive and forward-looking symbol which represents Wales and its role in the 21st Century".

We would appreciate your relocation of any flagpoles and banners... where they can be properly representative of your hotel's welcome rather than the village's welcome Llanfairpwll Community Council letter

Also among the objectors is Hanna Huws, a community councillor, who said she had complained in a personal capacity.

Ms Huws said: "My view of the two flags on the main road is that they should be moved 20 yards to the space in front of the hotel to truly reflect the welcome that hotel affords to visitors."

The local community council said in a letter to the hotelier that the flags were put up in "a public place which is a matter for the community and is a matter of significant sensitivity".

The council said: "Although technically it is on your land, you will appreciate that in terms of visibility it intrudes on a community space representing the approach to the village rather than the entrance to your hotel.

"We would appreciate your relocation of any flagpoles and banners to the foreground of your property where they can be properly representative of your hotel's welcome rather than the village's welcome."