‘Senseless and disrespectful’ vandals target war memorial ahead of VE Day
A war memorial has been vandalised in what police have branded a ‘senseless and disrespectful act’.
A member of the public in north west London spotted the damage on the memorial in Church Road, Hayes, on Monday, May 4 – in same week as the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
Officers are asking anyone who recognises the style of writing or the tags ‘Lord Enki’ or ‘State of Ari’ to come forward, after the markings were scrawled along with other words across the plinth in permanent marker.
The defaced war memorial, which records the names of local soldiers who lost their lives in both world wars, was noticed ahead of tomorrow’s VE Day commemorations, which mark the end of the Second World War in 1945.
PC Sean Creaby, from the Metropolitan Police’s Hayes safer neighbourhood team, said: ‘This was a senseless and disrespectful act and I’m at a loss as to why anyone would target a war memorial, particularly at a time when we should be remembering those who sacrificed their lives for our country.
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‘Not only was it a completely stupid thing to do, it was also an act of criminal damage and those responsible should know that there are consequences for this type of offence.’
He continued: ‘If anyone recognises the handwriting or the tags, or has information about this, please do get in touch with us so we can investigate.
‘We understand that this memorial means a lot to the community, and we care about it as much as they do.’
Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or contact them via the Twitter handle @MetCC.
To give information anonymously to Crimestoppers, call 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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