Manchester Arena: Man admits vandalising bomb victims' memorial

An official opening event is planned for spring

A man has admitted vandalising the memorial to the 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena bombing.

Anwar Hosseni, 24, caused £10,000 worth of criminal damage to the white marble halo bearing the names of the people who were murdered in the 2017 attack.

Hosseni damaged the memorial on 9 February, just weeks after it opened.

Manchester magistrates told him the case was too serious to be dealt with by them and sent it to the city's crown court.

The court heard Hosseni had scratched white lines across various parts of the white marble halo-shaped monument, entitled Glade of Light.

At the time, Manchester City Council said the damage was "minor" and repairs would be made.

Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett was killed in the bombing, previously said whoever was responsible must have "dark hearts to do such a thing".

She said the memorial was "really important" not just for the families of those who died, but for the people injured or psychologically damaged by the attack.

Twenty-two people were killed in the May 2017 bombing

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more injured when bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the venue on 22 May 2017.

The monument was conceived as a living memorial - a peaceful garden space for remembrance and reflection, featuring plants which grow naturally in the UK countryside and were selected to provide year-round colour and echo the changing seasons.

Around the anniversary every year, the white flowers of a hawthorn tree planted at its centre will bloom.

An official opening event for the memorial, located between Manchester Cathedral and Chetham's School of Music, has been planned ahead of the fifth anniversary of the atrocity.

Hosseni, of Twillbrook Drive in Salford, will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on 4 May.

He was given bail on condition of residence and that he does not go within a specified area around the memorial.

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