Disgust at anti-Semitic graffiti in Peterborough beauty spot

Benches at Cuckoo’s Hollow in Werrington have been vandalised with the word “Jew”, while the Star of David has also been spray-painted onto the ground.

Neil Barker said his wife, who does not wish to be named, saw the graffiti on Saturday at the nature haven.

He added: “My wife was out on her dog walk, and passing the seating area adjacent to Cuckoo’s Hollow weir she noticed what looked like anti-Semitic graffiti. The word ‘Jew’ was on the benches and two Stars of David sprayed onto the ground.

“She managed to rub those on the ground out to a degree.

“I went along soon after and saw the graffiti on the bench. It was disgusting to think that people from our community could have done this, defiling what is a wonderful space to reflection, exercise and leisure with messages of hate and intolerance that has no place anywhere, let alone Werrington.”

Neil tweeted pictures of the graffiti and tagged in city politicians.

MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya tweeted: “Neil I commend you for your diligence in reporting such an abhorrent incident. Antisemitism has no place in our city or society.”

Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough Paul Bristow tweeted: “These are completely shocking - I am open mouthed. Thanks for reporting these and highlighting.”

A Peterborough City Council spokesman said: “The graffiti in Cuckoo’s Hollow has been reported to us and we have arranged to have it removed urgently.”

A Cambridgeshire police spokeswoman said: “We are aware of this incident and are investigating. Officers are working to get the graffiti removed from the area as soon as possible.

“We would encourage victims and the public to help us tackle offences such as these by reporting incidents to the police or our partners.

“Everyone has the right to live without harassment or fear of crime.

“People can report incidents of anti-Semitism to us by visiting www.cambs.police.uk/report or by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.

“Alternatively, if people would prefer not to go directly to the police, they can report incidents online via the third party reporting scheme True Vision. This can be accessed via www.report-it.org.uk/.”