Hundreds of people have trespassed on the site of a memorial for the Manchester Arena bombing victims, it has been claimed.
Groups were said to be seen hanging around there with some smoking drugs and even vomiting and urinating there.
Two bereaved families said they witnessed many people walking through the area yesterday, although it is not meant to be open to the public yet.
The Glade of Light memorial garden, built to honour the 22 victims of the 2017 attack as people left an Ariana Grande concert, remains a building site at the moment.
Claire Brewster, who lost her sister Kelly, 32, in the attack and was seriously injured herself, said she saw ‘someone being sick’ and others urinating right next to it.
She tweeted: ‘We also had to move someone on from being sick and watch numerous others smoke weed or urinate right at the side of the memorial!! Manchester please, I am begging you, treat this memorial as special!
‘Pay your respects when it’s open, please don’t disrespect our families.’
She tried to guard the memorial in the city’s Medieval Quarter herself, alongside Caroline Curry, whose 19-year-old son Liam was killed in the bombing, and also tweeted: ‘Absolutely sickened by the total lack of respect shown.’
She said she had arrived at the memorial, which is centred around a white stone ‘halo’ bearing the names of the 22 people who were murdered in May 2017, to find the fencing had been moved.
She even saw people standing on the halo, she said.
Responding to one of Caroline’s tweets, Figen Murray, the mum of Martyn Hett, 29, who also lost his life in the attack, said: ‘Not quite what we all thought it would be. So sad.’
Manchester City Council is now investigating after the BBC reported the issue.
They said said had sent a security team to guard the site overnight, while Councillor Pat Karney said an investigation would be launched ‘as a matter of urgency’.
Mr Karney said in a statement: ‘The whole area is covered by CCTV and if footage shows it was due to the deliberate actions of mindless thugs, rather than a problem with the fencing itself, we will pass this information on to the police.
‘We utterly condemn this mindless and disrespectful behaviour and will not hesitate to take action against those involved.’
A statement on the Manchester City Council website says: ‘The Glade of Light is designed to be a living memorial, a tranquil garden space for remembrance and reflection.
‘Its peaceful surroundings are also intended as the setting for commemorative events in the city relating to the attack.’
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