THE removal of a UVF flag from outside a Catholic church in Co Down has been welcomed.
The paramilitary flag was placed on a telephone pole outside St Mary Star of the Sea, at Nunsquarter near Kircubbin, at the weekend.
Its appearance close to a busy junction in a mixed rural area came as a surprise to many locals and sparked an angry response from local politicians.
It is understood the flag was taken down overnight on Sunday.
Alliance Party MLA Kellie Armstrong had called for the illegal flag to be removed and action from the PSNI.
It is now known who was responsible for the removal of the flag.
Ms Armstrong said "the local community were very upset" and welcomed its removal.
"There was no riot or anything like that, so it does show that people are not happy with those sort of flags," she said.
"It's always been a case where...someone will be arrested if they remove those flags. It didn't cause any public disorder, the flag is down and the local community is happy about that."
The MLA believes the offensive flag may have been taken down at a local level "quietly and respectfully".
Ms Armstrong said "there's a message there for all public bodies" and referred to UVF hoarding placed on public property in north Down.
"I think thinks it's time we look at the fear factors that are around these flags," she said.
"Some individual or individuals put this one up as an antagonism and the community quietly reacted to it.
"I think a lot more statutory bodies maybe need to have that bravery as well."
Ms Armstrong said the area normally enjoys good community relations.
"In that area there aren't antagonisms, there's no problem," she said.
"Kircubbin itself has four churches in it, one Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church and a community church."
The PSNI was contacted.
