BBC News or political reporter
BBCSome families in a new development of mixed social housing in Lisburn have said they feel intimidated after a group of men placed flags in lamp poles.
The group wore dark clothes and hoods and was seen erecting the flags of the Union on Saturday night in Altona Drive and Altona Gardens.
A man said he was tolerated if someone withdrew the flags, “his house will burn.”
Police said they would involve “representatives of the local community and associated agencies around any complaint about the flags.”
It arrives only one week after some residents were sent brochures who claimed to be from a loyal paramilitary organization.
Video images, seen by BBC News or, seem to show four men with a ladder erecting flags in the area.
Conor Batchelor said he faced men on the screens in the lamps.
“They said anyone who touches the flags, his house will burn. So now we are living with fear,” he said.
The 30 -year -old, whose former partner and his two children live in the area, said they want to live in “peace and harmony with other religions, other cultures.”
He said it should be a “friendly and cozy.”
“We are really with the heart of everything,” he added.
Mr. Batchelor described the new housing development as a “mixed area.”
Some people can support the flags, but said they should be placed “on their property.”
“Not in public lamps or in the houses of people who do not want flags,” he added.
The mixed use of £ 16 million was launched last year.
Carol Carey, who lives in the area with his four children, said he no longer feels safe.
“I felt in my stomach. I don’t want this for my children,” he added.
She said she was tolerated by the police “there is nothing we can do” because they are not paramilitary flags.
“People on this street are already afraid because they have the cards,” he added.
Last month, some residents received brochures through the mailbox of their homes that claim to be from a loyal paramilitary organization.
The brochures had an emblem and a text Uff (Ulster Freedom Fighters) that “anyone caught eliminating loyal lamppost flags will be Dalt.”
They also read: “This is the loyal Lisburn, not the Republican West Belfast.”
The Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI) said that the officers in Lisburn were aware of the brochures and that they were still being investigated.
A PSNI spokeswoman added: “The police received a report on Saturday, April 19 on the flags that had bone erected in the Altona Drive area, Lisburn.
“All cases informed to the policy will be consulted in an individual base and, where the crimes have committed to the bones, they will be treated.
“Continuous officers to interact with representatives of the local community and associated agencies around any complaint about the flags.”
