‘DISGUSTED’ developers at the site of a much-loved sculpture tarnished with ‘Hang SNP’ graffiti have reported it to the police as a hate crime.
We told yesterday how a group of mindless vandals have defaced the DunBear statue in Dunbar, East Lothian, last week.
The sculpture, designed by Kelpies creator Andy Scott, was erected in 2019 as a tribute to famed Scottish environmentalist John Muir, who was born in the town.
Among the tags at the base of the figure were the words “Hang SNP”, “Covid lies” and “No Vaccine”.
Now, Halhill Developments which owns the site at the statue, has reported the incident as a hate crime.
Ken Ross, from the firm, said: "We are clearly disappointed and disgusted to see this behaviour and have reported the vandalism of this much-loved sculpture as a hate crime.
“The DunBear is for the people of Dunbar and is a tribute to the work of a son of the town, John Muir, an environmental leader who played a major role in establishing National Parks in the USA.
“It goes without saying that this behaviour cannot in anyway be condoned and would urge those in the community who know anything about it to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident reference 1939."
Police say they believe the damage took place between Thursday, September 9 and Friday, September 10.
READ MORE: Shocking 'Hang SNP' and 'Covid Lies' graffiti as vandals damage sculpture
Fence posts at a nearby housing development were also subject to similar messaging.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: "Officers would encourage anyone with information as to who is responsible for these acts to contact them on 101 quoting incident reference 1939 of September 11.
"Other acts of graffiti using tags such as 'Dist', 'Dist 21' and 'Districkt 21' have also been present in the same areas since April.
"It may be that these acts are unconnected, however officers would still encourage any information relating to these to be passed on."
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