Man arrested after poppy wreaths thrown from memorial

A man has been arrested after around 50 poppy wreaths were removed from a war memorial in Swindon and thrown across the street.

The vandalism of the Cenotaph War Memorial in the Wiltshire town was discovered by police officers on patrol in the early hours of Saturday.

The BBC reports that a 54-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and taken to Swindon Police Station for questioning. He was still in custody on Sunday evening.

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Inspector Rachel Hardy of Wiltshire Police said: “This incident has understandably caused a huge amount of upset to our local community and officers have been working tirelessly to identify the person responsible.

“Whilst we have made an arrest, we continue to appeal to anyone who may have information on this incident to call us.”

In a post on Facebook, the force said: “This was a mindless act of vandalism and shows complete disregard for those service men and women that have given the ultimate sacrifice in service of this country.

“Enquiries are ongoing and we urge that anyone who was in the area at the time that has any information that could assist the police to contact 101 and ask to speak to SPC 4448 Scott-Barrett regarding CRN 54190003682.”

Chief Constable Kier Pritchard, who laid one of the wreaths on Remembrance Day, has urged anyone with information about the vandalism to contact police, reports the i news site.

He tweeted: “This is a total disgrace. I laid our Wiltshire Police wreath at this cenotaph on Sun 11th Nov 2018 alongside many war veterans to show respect to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to provide the freedoms we enjoy today.

“Name those involved and help us identify them.”