Vandalised war memorials cleaned for remembrance

Two war memorial sites which were vandalised have been cleaned in time for Remembrance Sunday.

The Lowestoft Naval Memorial, at Belle Vue Park, was sprayed with what was believed to be red paint on Saturday afternoon, while a seating area near the town's Royal Plain war monument was covered in black graffiti.

Workers for East Suffolk Council and Lowestoft Town Council have since "cleared the graffiti at Royal Plain" and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has cleaned the naval memorial.

The town council owns Belle Vue Park and grounds manager Jonny Hawes said workers found paint had "seeped into the stone".

"So it's been a real pain to clean and quite a big job for them unfortunately," said Hawes.

Remembrance Sunday honours military personnel who have died in all conflicts, while Armistice Day every 11 November marks the end of World War One in 1918.

The monument at Royal Plain on the seafront honours the 716 Lowestoft men who died during World War One, and is where residents will gather this weekend.

Meanwhile, the site at Belle Vue Park commemorates the lives of almost 2,400 officers of the Royal Naval Patrol Service.

A commemorative parade will take place on Armistice Day from Royal Green, arriving at the memorial for a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT and a wreath laying ceremony.

"There are mixed feelings on the day for sure, but it's our biggest event of the year and will be full of both veterans and members of the public," added Hawes.

Suffolk Police said it received reports of people on the Belle Vue Park structure and that something had been sprayed on it on Saturday afternoon.

The force later confirmed that a 19-year-old was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and bailed until 22 December.

No-one has been arrested in relation to the graffiti at Royal Plain.

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