Bench destroyed and war memorial sprayed in ‘disgraceful’ Bamber Bridge vandalism

Destroyed bench in Bamber Bridge. Credit: Cllr Chris Lomax

A bench was destroyed and a number of cars and properties – including a charity shop and a memorial – vandalised overnight in Bamber Bridge.

St Catherine’s Hospice – a charity which provides end of life care – had its Station Road shop sprayed over with graffiti on the evening on 18 August.

The John McNamara commemorative paving stone – placed to honour the deeds of South Ribble’s only Victoria Cross recipient on Withy Grove Road closed to Morrisons and first unveiled in 2018 – was covered in yellow graffiti.

A bench nearby, also on Station Road and outside The Food Warehouse, was set alight and destroyed in the same evening.

By this evening (19 August) the bench had been removed by South Ribble Borough Council and the graffiti on St Catherine’s Hospice had been cleaned away by a volunteer.

Officers from Lancashire Constabulary were seen in Bamber Bridge investigating the incidents. Residents branded the damage as ‘disgraceful’.

Blog Preston contacted Lancashire Constabulary who said they are looking into the incidents but provided no further statement this evening.

Writing to residents, Ben Rowland, police community support officer at Lancashire Constabulary, said: “As you may or may not be aware, a group of youths spent last night spraying graffiti on various shops on Station Road in Bamber Bridge, along with some residential houses too.

“We take these incidents very seriously and are already underway with enquiries. We would appreciate if anyone with CCTV or knowledge of the events last night could reply to this message with any details they may have.

“This is completely confidential between yourselves and the Police and any information passed will not be shared with anyone outside the Police.”

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