Carrick Cenotaph attacks ‘insult’ to fallen

The issue was raised by members of the local authority following the most recent attack, which took place just days before Remembrance Sunday commemorations in the town.

During the incident, large feature boulders were used to smash a number of the lights at the Marine Gardens location.

The war memorial was similarly targeted in the summer, causing £8000 worth of damage.

Condemning the incident, Mayor Alderman Charles Johnston indicated the latest repair bill for the lights could easily surpass £1000. “The war memorial was targeted overnight on the November 6, just a few days before Remembrance Sunday,” he added. “It seems to be an ongoing issue in the town centre. It’s a disgrace that they can’t leave this area alone.”

A proposal to replace the stones was made by Alderman Jim Brown at Monday evening’s meeting of the Building Services Committee. “It would appear that the obvious solution to these acts of vandalism is to remove the ammunition; the insult to those who are being remembered at the war memorial cannot be measured,” he said.

With the main Remembrance events having concluded for the year, the local authority is aiming to implement the strategy in the coming weeks, according to director of Enviornmental Services, Alan Barkley. “We will be looking at removing the larger boulders and fixing the smaller ones in place to prevent them from being used,” he added.