Russian flag draped Salisbury Cathedral

A huge Russian flag has appeared draped over the north front of Salisbury Cathedral, causing outrage in the city.

The massive tricolour was hung high on scaffolding at the building in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The stunt follows almost a year after the novichok poisonings of the former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which caused the city to go into lockdown. A woman in nearby Amesbury who was also exposed to the lethal nerve agent later died.

“This was a remarkably stupid thing to do and makes light the huge personal tragedies involved, and the damage done to the city by the unprecedented nerve agent attacks,” the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, said.

The flag – now removed – was first spotted by citizens early Sunday morning.