A Three Lions superfan who has covered his house in St George’s flags says he is “England through and through” and won’t be deterred by negative comments on social media.
Martin Baker has adorned his home in Thanington, Canterbury, with dozens of patriotic decorations as Euro 2024 kicks off.
The bricklayer has even painted his driveway red and white in support of Harry Kane and co - who take on Serbia in their first game of the tournament tonight.
The dad-of-three told KentOnline: “I’ve done this loads of times - every time the Euros or the World Cup is on all the flags go up.
“I love England and I went one step further this year and painted the driveway myself with the flag.
“I’ve even been trying to get a huge flag for the roof but I can’t find one.
“The neighbours don’t seem to mind, and people are always stopping to take photos outside with all the flags.”
But when a picture of his house was posted on social media, some criticised the decorations, claiming the St George’s flag was associated with racism.
The 50-year-old said: “There were some nasty comments with people saying things like, ‘You’re National Front’ and ‘What universal credit do you claim?’
“But I just laughed it off. I put the flags up for a bit of fun.
“At the end of the day, I live in England, I’m in England, I’m England through and through and I’ll fly the English flag if I want to.”
A lifelong supporter of the national team, Mr Baker travelled to Portugal to watch England play in the 2004 Euros and even has the Three Lions badge tattooed on his chest.
This year he’ll be watching the action at the pub with some mates while enjoying a few beers - and he’s feeling confident about the side’s prospects.
He said: “I reckon we could go all the way. We have a good young side with some experience as well.
“So long as we make it through the group stages, I think we’ve got a great chance.”
