Police hunt vandals after war memorial 'petrol bombed'

The stone, which will be unveiled on 29 September, was only put in place on Wednesday

A new war memorial in the east end of Glasgow has been petrol bombed, a month before it is due to be unveiled.

The stone in Alexandra Park, Dennistoun, which was covered in tarpaulin, was targeted sometime between 2230 on Thursday and 0600 on Friday.

The tribute, designed by a local schoolboy, honours more than 1,000 local men made the ultimate sacrifice.

Police Scotland said an investigation into the attack is under way.

Jim Watson, chairman of the Dennistoun war memorial committee, said: "It looks as if it has been petrol bombed.

"The tarpaulin is stuck to the memorial and there is smoke damage. The gold paint work has also been damaged."

Mr Watson admits he is struggling to come to terms with the incident.

He added: "I am devastated and upset. I am also sad that people could stoop so low when this is a memorial for the whole community.

"It is disgusting. I am kind of lost for words."

Mr Watson said bottles found at the scene had been taken away for forensic analysis.

'Memorial for all'

A fundraising drive to erect the memorial to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the World War One raised £17,000.

It was designed by former St Denis' Primary School pupil Owen McGuire.

The 2.5 tonne stone was only put in place on Wednesday and work on the paving around it was due to start on Friday.

It is scheduled to be officially unveiled, following a parade of veterans and local children, on 29 September.

Mr Watson vowed the event would go ahead as planned.

He said: "They won't stop us. We are going to have our ceremony.

"They won't be allowed to win.

"This memorial is for all the people of Dennistoun, not one group."

Mr Watson later confirmed the memorial had been cleaned up and repainted.

Some scorch marks remain but a fresh attempt to remove them will be made on Saturday.

A police spokesman said: "Some time after 7am officers attended Alexandra Park following reports that a war memorial under construction had been vandalised.

"Inquiries are ongoing."