War memorial in Derbyshire town vandalised twice with graffiti in 24 hours

Police are investigating the two incidents – which first saw the memorial in Heanor desecrated with vulgar, neon pink, phallic graffiti and then, less than 24 hours later, sprayed once again with yellow ink.

Officers have described the vandalism as ‘mindless’ and are urging anyone with information to come forwards.

The first incident took place on Monday evening (July 17) when the bright pink graffiti was discovered by staff members as they locked up.

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The next day, between 5pm and 7.30pm, further vandalism was identified with yellow and green spray paint daubed across the Grade II listed monument. Officers are now ‘trawling’ through CCTV to try and identify who is responsible for the damage.

A spokesperson for Heanor and Langley Mill safer neighbourhood team said: “As you can imagine the monument isn’t going to handle constant chemical cleaning very well and it is going to affect the stone and decoration of the monument.

“We have been doing extensive enquiries in the area, but we are appealing to anyone that may know who is responsible, or saw something which may be connected.

“We urge anyone to get in touch with any information which may be relevant by calling 101 and quoting crime reference 23000445450 (for the July 18 incident or 23*443362 for July 17 incident).”

Anyone with information can also contact the force using an online contact form or anonymously via CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.