David Oluwale: Trust bids to replace stolen blue plaque

The blue plaque to commemorate David Oluwale was unveiled on Leeds Bridge on Monday afternoon

A fundraising page has been launched after the theft of a blue plaque honouring a British-Nigerian man who drowned after he was chased by police.

The memorial to David Oluwale disappeared just hours after it was officially unveiled in Leeds on Monday.

The plaque had been placed on Leeds Bridge near the spot where he entered the river in 1969.

West Yorkshire Police said the timing of the theft suggested it was a "deliberately targeted act".

The appeal to raise £1,000 has been launched by Leeds Civic Trust.

It said it wanted to commission a replacement blue plaque to ensure that the positive message about Mr Oluwale's life "is not lost", and to take forward the work of the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA).

"Many members of the public have reached out over the last 24 hours with heartening messages of support and sympathy [and] a number have offered to contribute towards the cost of funding a replacement blue plaque," a spokesperson said.

"Should we reach our target, we will be able to support a range of initiatives to support... DOMA's work, which exists to highlight issues of race, homelessness, mental ill-health and migration," they added.

Dr Emily Zobel Marshall, co-founder of the David Oluwale Memorial Association, said she was "devastated" by the plaque's disappearance.

"What is so sad is that it was such an uplifting event and brought in such an intergenerational, diverse crowd, and it is a blow but it doesn't stop us in our tracks," Dr Zobel Marshall said.

• Listen: Dr Zobel Marshall interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds

• What happened to David Oluwale?

An unveiling ceremony organised by Leeds Civic Trust ended at about 19:00 BST on Monday, police said, and the theft is thought to have occurred between 21:30 and 22:00.

Detectives investigating the theft have appealed to people who were on Leeds Bridge on Monday evening to get in touch.

The plaque is believed to have been removed just hours after it was unveiled

Ch Supt Damien Miller said the "truly appalling" theft would have a "significant impact" on "all those involved in keeping David's memory alive and on the wider community".

Last month, The David Oluwale Bridge was installed over the River Aire in what the city council said was a "lasting reminder" of the importance of equality and inclusion.

Who was David Oluwale?

Mr Oluwale's death led to the first prosecution of British police for involvement in the death of a black person

David Oluwale migrated from Nigeria in August 1949, hiding on a cargo ship destined for Hull.

He spent his final two years homeless in Leeds city centre, routinely mentally and physically abused by two police officers.

In the early hours of 18 April 1969, he was chased onto a bridge over the River Aire, and his body was found in the water two weeks later.

Two officers were later jailed for a series of assaults, but justice and civil rights campaigners said their trial presented a deliberately negative portrait of Mr Oluwale as a "social nuisance".