Vandals target Salvation Army hall

Jul 15 2010 by Leona Greenan, Hamilton Advertiser

Vandals target Salvation Army hall

SECTARIAN graffiti was spray-painted across the Hamilton Salvation Army hall and a neighbouring house last weekend.

Slogans and jibes were plastered across the doors and windows of the hall in Burnblea Street and a wall of a private house on Butterburn Park.

Police are now investigating the incident, which took place between 9.30pm on Friday night and 8.55am on Saturday morning.

It is being treated as vandalism with racial aggravation, which could well have been linked to one of a number of Orange parades in Hamilton on Saturday morning.

Some of those parades pass directly down the Portland Place and Low Waters Road area nearby to the Salvation Army Hall and house where the graffiti incidents took place.

Salvation Army commanding officers, captains David and Elizabeth McCaw-Aldworth were shocked to find the graffiti, which included the ‘IRA’ abbreviation, on Saturday morning.

Elizabeth said: “I locked up the hall on Saturday night at around 9.30pm and there was nothing spray-painted then, and when I returned on Saturday morning at 8.55am there it was.

“The police were called in and they came and had a look at it and did what they had to do.

“On Monday morning, a neighbour came by with some magic spray stuff that we put on and the graffiti washed off instantly so that was a relief.”

Elizabeth’s husband David added: “I’ve never known anything like this to happen here before and we’ve been here for three years now.”

Inspector Gillian Scott of Strathclyde Police, Q Division, said: “Vandalism and other antisocial behaviour crimes will not be tolerated in Hamilton.

“Graffiti is not only an eyesore, it causes abject misery and everyone in the local community pays for the clean- up operation.

“I would urge local residents to contact myself and my officers on 01698 483460, if they are experiencing such problems in their communities so that we can form a co-ordinated approach to dealing with them.”

A spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Council confirmed the incident and said: “This was reported to us and the graffiti was removed on Monday morning.”