Cambridge:

A WAR veteran said he felt sick after an "outrageous" act of vandalism
tarnished a Remembrance Day ceremony.

"Vandals sprayed images of monkeys on to the war memorial in Station Road,
Cambridge, just hours before the ceremony at 11am this morning.

Remembrance crosses placed at the foot of the memorial were also defaced
with messages such as "Stop All Wars".

The city council's graffiti team tried to remove the images from the statue
before the ceremony without success.

Jack Hunter, a member of the Cambridge Royal British Legion and county
secretary, said: "I feel so disgusted and sick - there are just no words to
describe how bad I actually feel."

Luke Davies, 42, from Hartington Grove, was walking to work this morning
when he noticed that the memorial had been vandalised.

He said: "I was really shocked when I saw what had happened to it,
especially given the day. The poppy wreaths are there every year for months
before Remembrance Day and I have always been impressed that they are never
touched and are treated with respect.

"I have been walking past there on my way to work for seven years and never
seen anything like this before," he added.

A police spokesman said: "At this stage we have no idea who the perpetrators
are but this is an outrageous act of vandalism, particularly on a day as
significant as today when millions of people are remembering those who died
in conflict.

"We will be thoroughly investigating the incident to try and catch those
responsible for this act."

Graham Watts, director of city services, said: "We are as anxious as anyone
to get rid of this offensive graffiti but we don't want to damage the stone
in the process as the paint is embedded in it.

"We are currently discussing how best to remove it with a stonemasons
company."

* A paint attack on headstones in a village churchyard and abusive comments
about the vicar on a church door have "appalled" police.

Early on Remembrance Sunday, officers found brown paint thrown over
headstones in Ellington churchyard and the offensive message scrawled on the
rear door of the church.

Pc Jason Cobb, of Huntingdon community action team, said: "It is an
appalling thing to happen. This is a small village with a very low crime
rate and something like this is totally out of character."

Source: Cambridge Evening News. 11.11.2003.


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Helensburgh:

The News of the World reports that a Scots war memorial is being guarded around the clock after it was attacked by mindless yobs for the sixth time this year.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3254521.stm