A brand new statue of former PM Margaret Thatcher has been vandalised for the second time in its first two weeks. The £300,000 monument was installed in the Baroness's hometown of Grantham but had eggs thrown at it straight away.
And now last night (Saturday) the statue was attacked again with red paint being spilled over it, and communist symbols daubed on fencing surrounding the site.
Peter A Tully, who took photos of the vandalism, told Lincolnshire Live: "Support for the statue is 50/50 in Grantham but in the country as a whole it's probably 70/30 against. It's a controversial history." Grantham resident Wayne Dean, 52, said: "I never liked her but this vandalism is out of order. It's a shame. There's no need for it."
Police said: "Just before 11.15pm on Saturday, May 28, we received reports of a person shown on CCTV acting suspiciously near the site. Officers attended and found graffiti had been spray-painted onto the barriers surrounding the statue, no damage was thought to have been caused to the statue itself. This is being treated as criminal damage and an enquiry is ongoing."
Previously, a university worker was fined £90 after throwing eggs at a statue. Jeremy Webster, who is deputy director at the University of Leicester’s Attenborough Arts Centre, was pictured and filmed throwing the eggs shortly after the memorial’s installation in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on May 15.
The university said it “does not condone defacement” after the incident and said the matter was being addressed in line with its procedures. Three eggs were thrown at the monument with a cry of “oi” heard after one hit its target.
Lincolnshire Police said they spoke with the 59-year-old and he was given a fixed penalty notice under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. Two CCTV cameras have been installed around the memorial to combat any threats of vandalism, the local council said.
Reports originally presented to South Kesteven District Council showed the statue was moved to the area due to fears of a “motivated far-left movement… who may be committed to public activism”.
After a large-scale £100,000 unveiling ceremony was approved by the council in 2020, a Facebook group proposing an “egg-throwing contest” at the event attracted interest from more than 13,000 people.
