Paul Lumber died after falling from a ladder while hanging Union Jack flags on lampposts near his home
Benjamin Blosse and Tristan Cork
07:20, 12 Dec 2025
(Image: Paul Lumber)
Tributes are pouring in for a man who lost his life after he fell from a ladder while putting up Union Jack flags to lampposts.
Paul Lumber suffered fatal injuries from a height while hanging flags near his South Bristol home on November 23. Despite being rushed to hospital, Paul never regained consciousness from an induced coma and passed away late last week.
In October, Paul had started an online fundraising campaign to gather funds for additional flags, reports Bristol Live. His online fundraiser, launched in late October, had amassed over £1,000 supporting his ‘Raise the Colours’ initiative before his fall on November 23.
While he was hospitalised, close friends rallied to set up a second online fundraiser for Paul, a 60 year old painter and decorator, and his family. The initiative has so far amassed over £5,000.
“He was widely regarded as one of the area’s most colourful and recognisable characters,” shared a close friend. “A painter and decorator by trade, Mr Lumber was a lifelong Bristol City and England supporter who followed both club and country with unwavering devotion.
“He was a prominent figure in the football casual scene during the 1980s, later chronicling its history in two books about the movements and activities of the City Service Firm, the group associated with Bristol City. Mr Lumber had recently wed Michele, his partner of 23 years. Friends characterised him as a man whose life orbited around those he cherished.”
“His family and friends were at the heart of everything he did,” another friend said. “Anyone who knew him will recall the pride, love and warmth with which he spoke about them all. He was a working-class hero.
“A fervent advocate for working-class rights, Mr Lumber was also recognised for his robust political activism and outspoken criticism of the current government,” he said. “His passing has resonated deeply across South Bristol, where he will be remembered fondly and sorely missed by many.”
The landlord of the Three Lions pub in Bedminster, Sean Donnelly, revealed he had known Paul since childhood and was heartbroken by his passing. “All his stories situations were unique and unbelievable, and if in a trench in a situation, you wanted Paul shoulder to shoulder with you – that was Paul,” Sean said.
Paul Lumber has written a book on the CSF(Image: Fort Publishing 2017)
“But of all his achievements, marrying Michele was his biggest achievement – it was a wonderful day celebrating with the good, the bad, the ugly, but most importantly the best people,” he added.
Paul’s debut publication ‘It All Kicked Off In Bristol’ showcased a cover photograph of him standing in the Three Lions’ doorway, chronicling the incidents that led to him being permanently barred from Bristol City home fixtures.
The memoir traced his involvement with, and subsequent departure from, the football hooligan culture during the late 1970s and 1980s, becoming an influential work within the modern literary movement documenting retired football casual reminiscences.
He was believed to be amongst the first individuals nationwide to be issued a football banning order upon their introduction, serving multiple prison sentences during his youth for violence connected to football.
His devotion to Bristol City remained unwavering, and he recalled how, whilst imprisoned during the 1980s, then-City manager Terry Cooper would post him match programmes from weekend fixtures, accompanied by personal correspondence describing his assessment of the team’s performance and match events. Speaking to Bristol Live in 2018 following the release of his debut book, he reflected that whilst he harboured no regrets about his involvement with the CSF, he had evolved into a more mature individual with family responsibilities.
“We were just normal British lads growing up at the time,” he explained to Bristol Live. “If we hadn’t had football we wouldn’t have had nothing.”
