Vandals paint face of war memorial soldier

A WAR memorial in a Lothian park has been attacked by vandals who spray-painted the face of a soldier's statue bright pink. The culprits were today branded "mindless" after targeting the monument to those who perished in both world wars.

Police officers said a graffiti "tag" left on the soldier's back that read Mini Taz was being investigated in a bid to trace the vandals.

The memorial, located in Manse Road in Whitburn, West Lothian, was attacked between Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday morning. Council chiefs said they had arranged for the spray-paint to be removed.

The vandals scaled about 20ft to paint over the face of the soldier, who stands with his head bowed in memory of fallen comrades.

Dozens of names are etched into the stone, listing residents from the Whitburn area who died in the conflicts. The attack was today condemned as a "disgrace". Three years ago the site was used to honour a soldier killed in the Iraq war who came from the town.

Sapper Robert Thomson, 22, was killed in Basra in January 2004. About 90 people, including his mother Margaret, gathered to mark his death with a remembrance event.

George Paul, chairman of Whitburn Community Council, said: "It's a disgrace that young people fail to recognise the sacrifice made by people's fathers and grandfathers on behalf of their country. They should think about what they are doing when they commit these kinds of acts.

"This memorial is not just to remember those who are dead, it's a place where soldiers who are alive can go to think."

West Lothian Councillor Willie Dunn said: "This shows a complete lack of respect for people who fought and died for their country. It's terrible behaviour which, in these cases, usually involves young people.

"They need to learn respect for those who have given their lives in the armed forces to this day."

A spokeswoman for the War Memorials Trust said: "Sadly, this is not an uncommon occurrence. The trust was set up in 1997 to help protect and conserve memorials and one of the main reasons was because of this type of crime."

A police spokeswoman said: "This was a mindless act of vandalism on a memorial which means a lot to families who lost their loved ones. We are appealing for witnesses."

In January, a war memorial in Midlothian, which has suffered a string of vandal attacks, was badly damaged again.

A rifle held by the memorial's stone soldier was smashed up and wreaths were torn out from the base of the memorial in Bonnyrigg, which stands in the town's George V Park.