THE Peace Centre is appealing for help to identify the perpetrators responsible for ‘unthinkable’ vandalism.

The building in Great Sankey, off Cromwell Avenue, is acting as a base for children of Warrington Hospital workers, while also providing residential beds for NHS doctors off shift, who are on the front line fighting the coronavirus.

But the centre has today, Wednesday, issued an appeal to the community to act to identify the people involved in the vandalism and to stop it happening again.

It follows two consecutive nights of ‘sustained attempts’ of serious vandalism by three young men at around 3am.

The centre says the attacks have been thwarted by the on-site security team, although they have followed a similar pattern.

The males appear to be young teenagers, who are not observing lockdown and social distancing, and are intimidating to the centre’s night housekeepers and security, as well as trying to break street furniture and windows.

It follows a serious incident on Remembrance Sunday last year, which damaged a large glass pane, which has only just been repaired.

The youths attempted to break the same panel in the latest incident.

The Peace Centre operates 24-hour security, but it has yet to clearly identify the perpetrators and has now appealing to the Warrington community to try and find the culprits and report them to the police. It is home to the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation.

Chief executive Nick Taylor said: “The fact that young people are on the streets during a lockdown, in the early hours, intent on trouble is worrying.

“It is also unthinkable that an iconic building set up in memory of the two boys who lost their lives to terrorism, that houses such sensitive work, and at present a facility being used as living quarters for NHS doctors on the front line of fighting Covid-19, is being subjected to this vandalism.

“Somebody in the community or their parents, or friends must know who they are and we appeal to them to let the police know so we can stop them.”

The centre will be operating enhanced security over the coming nights and would like to thank security service ICS and Speedy Hire for all the help they have given free of charge today to put in place new equipment and protection.

You can find out more about the Peace Foundation’s work in the prevention, resolution and response to violent conflict at peace-foundation.org.uk.