A man has been arrested after around 50 poppy wreaths were removed from a war memorial in Swindon and thrown across the street.
The BBC reports that a 54-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and taken to Swindon Police Station for questioning. He was still in custody on Sunday evening.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Inspector Rachel Hardy of Wiltshire Police said: “This incident has understandably caused a huge amount of upset to our local community and officers have been working tirelessly to identify the person responsible.
“Whilst we have made an arrest, we continue to appeal to anyone who may have information on this incident to call us.”
In a post on Facebook, the force said: “This was a mindless act of vandalism and shows complete disregard for those service men and women that have given the ultimate sacrifice in service of this country.
“Enquiries are ongoing and we urge that anyone who was in the area at the time that has any information that could assist the police to contact 101 and ask to speak to SPC 4448 Scott-Barrett regarding CRN 54190003682.”
Chief Constable Kier Pritchard, who laid one of the wreaths on Remembrance Day, has urged anyone with information about the vandalism to contact police, reports the i news site.
He tweeted: “This is a total disgrace. I laid our Wiltshire Police wreath at this cenotaph on Sun 11th Nov 2018 alongside many war veterans to show respect to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to provide the freedoms we enjoy today.
“Name those involved and help us identify them.”
-
Tourist sparks bomb alert after accidentally ordering a 'grenade'Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Green man will stay on longer for fat Britsfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
George Floyd legacy: what has changed in the US three years onfeature Police officers are more accountable but has ‘white empathy’ hit a wall?
-
How your laughter shows when you’re in lovefeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
US elite crime-fighting units: a recipe for trouble?feature Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis highlights the dangers of using of elite crime-fighting units
-
What happened to Tyre Nichols?Speed Read President Biden calls for ‘peaceful protest’ ahead of video release showing Memphis police officers fatally injuring 29-year-old
-
Three children dead after plunging into frozen Solihull lakeSpeed Read Search continues for unconfirmed number of other children, with rescue ‘now a recovery operation’
-
The Week Unwrapped: SIDS, Tasers and Alabaman rightspodcast Are we closer to understanding sudden infant death syndrome? Has a Trump-appointed judge given hope to trans Americans? And do too many British police have Tasers?
