War memorial attack branded 'disgusting'

Councillor Michael Hartnack and resident Nichola Austin-Ratcliffe helped clean the site

A vandal attack on a war memorial which saw graffiti sprayed and paving stones ripped up has been branded "disgusting".

The site, in the Fulwell area of Sunderland, is in the process of being renovated as part of a community project which has seen more than £30,000 raised.

Councillor Michael Hartnack said the memorial honoured "the people who gave their lives for our freedom and you've got these morons that come along and damage it".

Sunderland City Council described the attack as "utterly deplorable" and urged anyone with information to contact police.

The memorial, off Chichester Road and close to the Seaburn Recreation Ground, was originally a shelter.

Damaged in a fire in the 1970s, it became seating surrounded by a low wall with a bronze plaque featuring three columns of names at its heart.

However, with plans approved last year, work is under way to replace the seating with a galvanised steel feature depicting poppies.

The existing plaque will be fixed to a stone slab and mounted on a platform.

The new memorial has been designed by North East-based artist Colin Wilbourn

Hartnack, who is also chair of the Friends of Fulwell War Memorial group, said the "setbacks are awful" but he vowed the project would be completed in time for Remembrance Sunday in November.

Fulwell resident Nichola Austin-Ratcliffe helped scrub the graffiti from a temporary structure erected around the memorial.

She said: "I'm absolutely disgusted that it would happen in our area as we're such a close-knit community".

The paving has been replaced by contractors.

The council said: "Given the wartime sacrifices remembered here and alongside the community and volunteers supporting these new memorial works, this vandalism and graffiti is utterly deplorable and shows a complete lack of respect and awareness for others."

Northumbria Police said the attack is believed to have taken place between 18:00 BST on Thursday and 08:00 on Friday.