Lancashire community centre defaced with swastikas and antisemitic drawings 

A community centre in Lancashire has been defaced with swastikas and antisemitic drawings.

Images show the interior of Accrington’s Spring Hill Community Centre vandalised, including the daubing of a swastika and the scrawling of the phrase “Seig Heil” on the walls.

In another image, a sketch of what appears to be a racist cartoon of a Jewish person was stuck on the wall. A Star of David was drawn on the person’s face while a swastika was drawn on the chest.

Smashed glass, strewn furniture and splattered paint were also visible in the images. Books, including Islamic children’s books, were thrown on the floor and the iron railings on the outside of the Centre, which also functions as a nursery, had been ripped off.

Shamim Miah, a trustee at the centre alongside his wife, said: “We are speechless. It is so distressing and demoralising. We just don’t know what to do and who to turn to. 

“This is a small community centre and it caters for the local community. We have a nursery which is run by someone else and they had to tell the parents what had happened. Who in their right mind would do this? It is damage on a huge scale. We don’t even know where to start.

“You just cannot comprehend what would be going through someone’s mind to purposely go through each and every part of the building and do this.”

Lancashire Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Tom Edmondson said: “Our enquiries are continuing into this serious offence. We are working closely with community leaders and patrols will be increased in the area for reassurance.”

Image credit: Google