Decorations aren’t always welcome as Christmas wreaths have been banned from front doors by a council. The committee has been known as the Grinch for raining on the parade with restrictions.
Residents living in apartments on Whiteford Drive, Kettering, Northants, were confused when they received an order from members of the North Northamptonshire Council (NNC). People have been ordered to remove festive decorations hanging from their doors due to potential fire hazards. According to the council, no items are allowed to be placed in communal areas for health and safety reasons.
Wayne Linskey, a 54-year-old resident, didn’t remove the wreath even after the order. Linskey is upholding the spirit of Christmas and fights off any Grinches by keeping the wreath attached to the front door.
He said: “I have not met anyone who has not just laughed when I told them. If they’ve (the council) not got better things to spend their time on and worry about then there’s too many people there. They are being a bit grinchy. Where is the common sense in it? There is none really.”
Linskey argued that the wreath will only catch fire if someone purposes tries to blow up his house. He has escalated the issue with the council and left a piece of paper on his wreath telling staff they should not remove it until the appeal reaches a resolution.
Ewelina Piescinska has resided in the area for eight years and said she has always had a wreath at Christmas with no pushback. She said: “We were told we must put decorations away because it’s a fire hazard. I couldn’t believe it. It’s ridiculous. I told my sister and she laughed.”
Other residents started shaming the council on social media: “What a joke! Sounds like any excuse to dictate to their residents to me!”
Another person wrote: “Where’s the Christmas spirit in that! A couple of wreaths aren’t going to make much of a difference in the event of a fire anyway. Ridiculous decision.”
There are more effective ways to start a fire than with a couple of festive wreaths.
Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/killjoy-grinch-council-bans-christmas-28797737