A LEADING city councillor has slammed the actions of vandals who damaged a much-loved civil war memorial in an historic Worcester park and drove a ‘dagger through the heart of the city’.
Former Mayor of Worcester and Cathedral Coun Jabba Riaz spoke after the civil war memorial in Fort Royal Park was damaged between 3pm on Monday and 7am yesterday. Significant damage has been caused to the memorial including offensive graffiti.
The memorial has also been daubed with the acronym BLM, a reference to the Black Lives Matter protests taking place in Worcester and across the globe.
But speaking to the Observer, Coun Riaz said: “I’ve no doubt this is a deliberate attack which clearly aimed to strike at the heart of the city in terms of our history and our heritage.
“Those behind this seek to cause division in our society, just days after we had a peaceful gathering in the city to mark the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The memorial is an integral part to our community. For the last ten or 12 years we have been fighting for investment into a neglected city park.
When asked what he would say to the perpetrators, Coun Riaz said: “Do you really know what you have done and what the civil war means to us?
A Worcester City Council spokesman said: “The main target of the attack was the beautiful and much-loved monument to all those who fought and died in the Battle of Worcester, an important moment in our city and our country’s history.
“The two cannons and the two interpretation boards have now been removed from the site and taken to a safe place. They will be repaired and restored to their rightful position in coming months.
“We have removed graffiti from the Battle of Worcester bronze plaque and also from the children’s play areas.”
Safer Neighbourhood Insp Dave Troth would like help from the community who may have seen anything in the area overnight: “We believe this damage would have caused a significant noise and disturbance, so we are hopefully someone will be able to come forward with any information that may help us.”
“Although the graffiti shows BLM, the acronym for Black Lives Matters, we will be looking at all possible groups and individuals that may have caused this damage.”
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact West Mercia Police on 101 quoting 0091S 160620.
