Father who painted Union Jack on house banned from dressing up as Santa Claus and handing children presents

Beloved locally as “Sutton Santa”, Mr Brocklehurst has spent his own cash on the festivities each year to raise money for charity for four years.

The fully DBS-checked patriot painted his home red, white and blue back in 2025 in retaliation over local hooligans who pulled down his St George’s Cross.

He told GB News: “My grandad fought in the war, and I’ve always flown the flag as a sign of respect and a sign of hope.

“Somebody decided to rip it down and run down the street with it, shouting ‘racist’, so I thought, I’m going to paint my house. They can’t rip that one down!”

Hitting back at online criticism, Mr Brocklehurst claimed that he has endured “mixed reactions”, describing himself as “public enemy number one” online.

He said: “Only online, there’s a lot of vile keyboard warriors saying, ‘I’m going to break your windows’, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.

“It’s just keyboard warriors trying to put a downer on things. In real life, everybody loves it.”

Mr Brocklehurt said he did all the festivities for free, where he purchases the presents himself to spread the Christmas joy later down the line.

“I’d just spent a grand and a half on a giant inflatable snow globe and built a model village,” he told the Nottingham Post.

But, after a U-turn, the shopping centre bosses performed a U-turn, insisting the decision “had nothing whatsoever to do with the Union Jack displayed” on the patriot’s home.

“They previously said I could do it and I was just trying to do a good thing,” the Sutton Santa added.

“There are people that come from miles and miles away just to see me. I don’t want them to be disappointed.”

Jason Truscott, manager of Idlewells Shopping Centre, said: “Firstly, we would like to thank Mr Brocklehurst for his time and contributions to the centre over the past four years.

“The centre is now operating under new management, and as part of our approach, we are reviewing various aspects of the centre’s activities and arrangements, including our Christmas programme.

“As a community shopping centre, our priority is to provide a welcoming, inclusive and neutral environment for everyone.

“We remain grateful to Mr Brocklehurst for his previous contributions and wish him all the best.”

On the matter of his patriotic display outside his home, Mr Brocklehurst previously told GB News that his family and locals do enjoy it, despite some negative reactions.

He said: “My family likes it, and like I say, most people in Sutton like it. I’ve had a couple of negative comments, but nothing major.”

The father further vowed he would challenge any order issued by Derby council to take down his show of patriotism.