Driving through the south west of Birmingham, it's hard not to notice something about the lampposts. For more than a mile, almost every one has a St George's or union jack flag attached - thousands of them. In one district, Weoley Castle, the BBC found two men carrying a ladder and shopping bags. A DIY trip this is not, because as we stop to talk to them one rests the ladder against a lamppost, the other pulls a union jack flag from the bag, and the next minute it's flying high. They tell us they want to spread "love, unity and patriotism", but don't want to be filmed or interviewed. They direct us to a local cafe where flags and donations are being collected to find out more. It's rare to see national flags lining our streets like this in Great Britain, beyond special occasions like royal, sporting or military events, so why are they appearing now - and does this say something bigger about people's perceptions of modern-day Britain? The latest phenomenon started in mid-July in Weoley Castle and spread to neighbouring areas. In the last week it has rippled not just across the West Midlands, but other parts of England including Worcester, Bradford, Greater Manchester, Newcastle and Norwich. In the cafe, we're told the first flags were put up in Weoley Castle's square in response to a story in the nearby town of Rugby about a 12-year-old girl who was prevented from making a speech about being British in her school, while wearing a union jack-themed dress. She was wearing the outfit for Bilton School's "culture celebration day", for which pupils were asked to wear cultural dress rather than school uniform. The school has since offered "unreserved apologies" to the girl over the incident. As the story gathered steam online, a group named the Weoley Warriors was formed, locals told us in the cafe, initially by three men but now said to have several dozen members.