UK's 'most patriotic' street gets bunting out again for England

When the full-time whistle blew in Russia, the party on a terraced street in Oldham was in full swing. Children ran out to play football while the umpteenth rendition of the Fat Les song Vindaloo blared out on to the street dubbed “the most patriotic in Britain”.

More than 1,500 St George’s flags fly on the ironically named Wales Street, where every house is festooned with England colours and each family, even the street’s only Welshman, has caught World Cup fever.

Chris Farrand, the mastermind of the patriotic takeover, said: “We were in the pub one day and said it would be good to decorate the street for the World Cup. That was 12 years ago, and now people are knocking on my door saying ‘Are we doing it this year?’”

A kilometre of bunting crisscrosses the street, where makeshift signs temporarily rename it England Street. Residents considered changing its name officially but were put off by the associated bureaucracy, said Farrand.

What started as an idea in the pub has quickly become a tradition. Every two years, and for national events such as the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012, everyone chips in a fiver and the ladders come out, the bunting goes up and the celebrations begin. Even family pets wear England shirts.

Kath Nolan, 53, who helps wash the flags ready for their next outing, said: “Everybody mucks in. It’s become tradition here.

“We all had young ‘uns when it started. My eldest is 27 now, and they wouldn’t let us not do it now. They were the ones up the ladders when it first started. We’ve just got great neighbours and everybody looks after each other,” said Nolan, as another resident handed two bags of crisps out of a passing car window. “Drive-by crisps,” joked a neighbour.

Each of England’s six goals were celebrated on Sunday as if they were being scored in a World Cup final, as children rushed in and out of their homes blowing horns and jumping around.

Those who preferred to watch the match at the pub even changed venues at half-time to keep everyone happy. Paddy Hetherington, 60, whose black labrador Nelly was wearing an England shirt, said: “Half the street likes one pub, the other half prefer another. We try to make everyone happy.”

At the Lowerhouse Inn, where several residents watched the match, Matt Lill, 27, said he would be reluctant to leave the street to which he moved four years ago. “I don’t think people want to move away from the friendliness,” he said.

“It’s rare you see a for sale sign up here, and everybody’s got each other’s key. When you go on holiday, you know your house is safe. This just brings the community spirit together.”

Two years ago, residents paid for Welsh flags for the street’s Welshman during Euro 2016. This year, with Wales absent from the World Cup, his English wife persuaded him to join in the festivities, and St George’s flags duly fly from their front door.

Television cameras have almost become a part of life on Wales Street. Sky Sports News and ITV’s Good Morning Britain have broadcast this week from the street, which is only big enough for only one car to squeeze through at a time.

When BBC Breakfast visited on Sunday morning, Farrand became a hit on social media for finishing his first pint by 8.30am. “Chris from Oldham you wonderful bastard,” one person tweeted.

“It’s positive stuff for Oldham and there’s not a lot of positives going on here any more. We’re just waiting for a visit from the mayor now,” laughed Farrand at the Lowerhouse Inn. The street’s newfound fame has attracted a handful of unpleasant remarks online, he said, but they will not let that spoil the fun.

“People think we’re chavs because we decorate our street, but its really not like that,” he said. “We all work. It’s like going back to the 70s and 80s, and our street’s bucking the trend. We’re very lucky because not a lot of people have that. People don’t want to move off,” he said.

For now, Wales Street is too busy celebrating the result to make plans for the quarter-finals or beyond. “I’m an England fan,” said Farrand. “I’m a pessimist, not an optimist.”

But not everyone was sharing his gloomy outlook. Nolan, stretched out on a sunlounger as football anthems played from the house opposite, said: “It would have to be a mega-party, the World Cup final. We’d have to have the street blocked off.”