A former British soldier has taken down a Nazi flag after leaving the neighbours fuming. Billy Brown flew the flag in the back garden of his home on Belmont Walk in Walker, Newcastle, on Monday.
He was also reportedly heard playing the played the tune Erika, a 1930s marching song used by the German military, after raising the flag. One neighbour told Chronicle Live: "I'm in complete and utter shock.
"He's always got different flags but that is the first time I've seen a Nazi flag. I'm disgusted."
Another said: "Other neighbours are as disgusted as I am, it gives the street a bad name as we’ll all be tarred with the same brush. Walker is a lovely mix of people so there will be a lot upset at seeing this bigoted flag.
"They have been singing loudly songs in German but, as I do not speak German, I do not know if they were Nazi songs or something else." A third person, who lives nearby, added: "That's wrong.
"He can't be doing things like that no matter how old he is. It's offensive - it's naughty, it's very naughty."
Following the backlash, Billy, 81, said he put the controversial Nazi flag up for a relative who was interested in history and World War II. The swastika is widely recognised as a symbol of the Nazi Party which, led by Adolf Hitler during World War II, killed millions of Jews across Europe.
Billy, who claims he was in the British Army for six years and served in Germany, said the flag had been posted through his door by an unknown person. And he said he checked the internet to see if such flags were banned before flying it in his garden.
Billy, who has lived at the address for 49 years, said: "The flag was pushed through the letter box one Saturday. I was a bit concerned I would upset people.
"I was worrying with it being a dodgy flag - and it doesn't get much more dodgy than that. If it had been banned I wouldn't have done it. I'm going off what somebody said on the computer."
Billy, who was also a shipyard worker, has numerous flags from different countries which he puts up in his garden. He said: "I put different flags up.
"It's something to do. I had a Sierra Leona one, I've just took it down. I have got storage boxes, about three or four of them, and I just pick one out."
Billy said he puts up flags from around the world but he wouldn't put a Union Jack one up. When asked why, he replied: "With the state of this country, you're kidding?"
He took the Nazi flag down at around lunch time on Tuesday after becoming aware of the backlash by neighbours. He added: "I'll still fly my flags but this one is definitely gone. I'll put it in a black bag."
