Nazi vandal shock in park

Click on image for full-size

Mindless vandals have daubed a park with Nazi slogans and signs in the week the country stops to remember its war dead.

A shelter in Anchorsholme Park has been painted with swastikas – the terrifying symbol of the German Nazi Party who were responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War – and the Nazi salute of sieg heil, meaning hail victory. The party, led by Adolf Hitler, was the main fighting force against British troops during the war, and with Remembrance Day on Friday, the graffiti has left one resident disgusted with the vandals.

Jamie Young, from Anchorsholme, said: “I think it’s very offensive being less than a week until Remembrance Day. We have had so many problems in this part of town next to the Norbreck Castle Hotel and it has been a problem for a number of years. It almost seems the police and the council are powerless to deal with the issue and it’s most times of the day.”

Mr Young claims the area has issues with school children coming to the area at their lunch and causing trouble. He added: “It was only ten days ago a group of kids had a fight in the park. It’s a nightmare. It used to be really nice round here but it has gone downhill.”

Ian Coleman, president of Blackpool’s Royal British Legion branch, delivered a petition to Downing Street last week to lobby the Government to hand out stronger punishments to those defacing war memorials. He told The Gazette: “They can have no idea about what harm they’re doing if they lived through the war. Millions and millions of people lost their lives under that swastika sign and it should never rear its head again, especially in this country. Now I find out our locals are doing this and I find it abhorrent.”

Mr Coleman is now calling on schools to do more to educate people about the evils of the Nazis. He added: “This isn’t just graffiti, it’s a slight on anyone who died from this country and it’s a slap in the face for anyone who stands up for democracy. It’s a lack of understanding and education, possibly through schools and their own families not passing down what has happened.

“Education is a must because millions of people were killed under that swastika and so many more suffered soul-destroying injuries.”

Blackpool Gazette

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Anti-extremist protesters jailed for Luton rampage

Richard Myers and Tony Griffiths were both jailed at Luton Magistrates Court

Four men have been jailed for going on the rampage during a march against Muslim extremists in Luton. The event on 24 May was held after a protest by Muslim demonstrators during a homecoming parade for the Royal Anglian Regiment earlier in the year.

James Butley, 18, of West Sussex, Tony Griffiths, 27 and Simon Hattle, 21, from Luton were jailed for 16 weeks at Luton Magistrates Court. Richard Myers, 21, from Luton was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison.

The "March for England" through Luton town centre last year saw up to 400 people take part in a peaceful protest, police said. But a group broke away and smashed windows at an Asian-owned fast food shop and an Asian man was attacked. Police officers were goaded by a mob who hurled placards at them, the court heard.

CCTV footage was played in the court which showed a small group running across a dual carriageway where they attacked a car containing three Asian men.

District Judge Carolyn Melanby said: "People who behave in this way will lose their liberty."

Three other defendants who were due to be sentenced had their case adjourned because reports were not ready.

BBC

Colliers Wood cabbie targeted by racist graffiti

A family has been left “traumatised” after they were targeted by racist graffiti

Taxi driver Mohammad Irfan Bashir, who is of Pakistani origin, discovered the word BNP sprayed all over his car just before Christmas. Shocked neighbours knocked on the door of Mr Bashir, who lives with his wife and three children in Devonshire Road, Colliers Wood, on December 21 to tell him his vehicle had been vandalised while parked outside his home overnight.

Maha Khurram, a relative who was staying at the house when the attack happened, said the family - which has two children at nearby Singlegate Primary School - has never suffered racism before. She said: “It’s shocking for me to see this - their kids play with everyone else’s in the street.”

The phrase was sprayed in blue along the door panels and bonnet of the black Ford Galaxy, and paint was also sprayed on its windows, headlights and hubcaps. Miss Khurram said the attack had left the family “traumatised” and worried about leaving the house.

Acting Detective Inspector Chuks Gwam of Merton police said: “This kind of vandalism won’t be tolerated on our borough. We are supporting the victim, a hard working taxi driver, and his family as our local residents and will pursue all available leads to arrest those responsible for this crime.”

The Merton police Community Safety Unit is investigating the vandalism - anyone with information should call crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Your Local Guardian

Racist graffiti outrage after BNP slogan daubed on Church Fenton Railway Station

Offensive BNP graffiti daubed on walls at Church Fenton Railway Station has been condemned as "racist bigotry" by the area's Conservative party candidate.

Tory candidate for Selby and Ainsty Nigel Adams said he was "appalled" at the scrawlings on the railway entrance hall after it was reported to him by a commuter who regularly uses the line. He said this kind of bigotry had no place in the district, and termed it "offensive".

He added: "This graffiti was daubed in an area very close to an Indian restaurant/takeaway. If anyone daubs BNP in big red letters near such an eaterie – the only one within 20 miles – you can only draw one conclusion. The mindless idiots who did this were trying to make a statement about race, so in that case it's racist. Any vandalism is abhorrent, but to daub BNP in big red paint outside an Indian restaurant/takeaway is clearly designed to upset the owner."

He said it was also offensive to commuters travelling to and from work, adding: "We found this so offensive, myself, my assistant and a volunteer have gone to the station and we've removed the graffiti ourselves."

Selby Rail Users' Group secretary Reg French said he had reported the graffiti to Northern Rail as soon as his group became aware of it. He added: "Any graffiti like this is appalling. The group reported this to Northern Rail on Monday as soon as we were informed of it. This is their property so we thought it best to let them deal with its removal."

Selby Times