"Feral kids" blamed for vandalism and graffiti on memorial and houses in Bamber Bridge

The incident happened on Sunday night on Station Road, and in the memorial area outside Morrisons.

A photograph has been circulated on social media, showing a memorial bench destroyed by fire, and yellow paint covering family memorials, as well as a stone tribute to First World War hero, VC winner, Cpl John McNamara. When the Post visited the area on Tuesday lunchtime, the bench had been removed, and some attempts had been made to clean the yellow graffiti, but most remained.

The damage has been labelled “disgraceful” and “disgusting” by locals.

“Feral kids”

Sharing a message from South Ribble Police about the incident, Councillor Jeff Couperthwaite said: “Following last nights disgusting behaviour.. about time we started standing up to these feral kids and helping (sic) the police sort them out.”

The message he shared was from PCSO Benjamin Rowland, which said: “Hello residents of Bamber Bridge and Walton Le Dale. 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. Any help is appreciated.”

Councillor Chris Lomax told the post that the damage had also been reported to South Ribble Borough Council and that the spray paint would be removed “as soon as possible”. He said: “We are talking to the police, myself and other councillors. They have been dealing with a lof of the summer holidays and have taken quite a few trial bikes off the road. We’re hoping to have further chats with them (the police), and hoping to organise a Coffee with a Cop session.”

Reluctant to label all of the area’s youths, Coun Lomax said he believed the damage had been caused by a “very, very small few”, and said that Bamber Bridge was a “fine place”. He added: “Every time something happens, tell the police. You can call 101 or log it online via Lancashire Constabulary’s website.”

South Ribble Borough Council

Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Commercialisation, said: “We are saddened by the recent vandalism and destruction of the public bench in Bamber Bridge - vandalism has no place in South Ribble. The bench was burned and left in an unsafe condition, posing a risk to the community. Our street scene team will be removing the damaged bench as soon as possible and we are hoping to replace the bench in the coming weeks.”