Dewsbury Pride pub event targeted by marquee vandals

A marquee in the grounds of the Leggers Inn in Dewsbury was slashed and ripped up shortly before the event was due to start

Organisers of a Pride event targeted by vandals hours before it began say the attack made them more determined to make the day a success.

The first ever Dewsbury Pride took place at the Leggers Inn on Saturday, despite its marquee being ripped up overnight shortly before it began.

Organisers said the local community rallied around to ensure the day could still go ahead, with 150 attending.

West Yorkshire Police said the incident had been recorded as a hate crime.

Its Dewsbury neighbourhood policing team was investigating a report of criminal damage and urged anyone with information to contact them.

'My heart just dropped'

Chloe Mitchell, lead organiser of the event, said they had received negative messages on social media and "vaguely threatening communications" before the day.

"We knew it was a possibility, there was a campaign of people trying to protest the event and sending us emails telling us to cancel," she said.

Ms Mitchell, who had been working on the event for about a year, said she woke up on Saturday morning to messages telling her about the damage to the marquee.

"I was devastated, my heart just dropped," she said.

"They cut open every single roof and side panel and broke shelves on a bar inside, they destroyed it all."

Police said they attended the Dewsbury Pride event following the vandalism attack "to provide reassurance and to engage with the community"

Organisers said word quickly spread and locals helped to make repairs and change the layout of the site to allow the day to go ahead.

"It was a day of the best and worst of people, they were working together to try and make it happen for us," Ms Mitchell said.

"A lot of people have sacrificed a lot of time and effort to get it off the ground."

The pub estimated damage to the marquee would cost £4,000 to fix, with an online fundraising appeal raising the required funds.

The "brilliant" event included singers, bingo, afternoon teas and craft stalls, Ms Mitchell said.

"It wouldn't have mattered to me if just one person would have turned up, I was happy that we'd gone ahead with it despite what some people had tried to do," she concluded.

"The message was, we're not going to bow to this pressure, everyone is going to have a lovely day and you won't have won."