A WAR veteran has condemned a graffiti attack on a memorial to Scouts.

Vandals targeted Nelson’s Scout Memorial, in Market Square, after it had only just been relocated following town centre improvement works.

But the sandstone monument, now beside the town’s main cenotaph at the top of Market Street, was ‘tagged’ – sprayed with graffiti – last Sunday afternoon.

Council chiefs, who have since cleaned the memorial, are hopeful the culprits will have been caught on town centre CCTV cameras.

Traces of the ‘tag’ can still be seen on the plinth and consideration is being given to having the edifice professionally restored.

Coun George Adam, chairman of the Nelson and District Royal British Legion, has blasted the yobs. He said: “I saw the graffitti on Monday morning and I spoke to the chief executive about it, and it has been cleaned off.

“I am hopeful that the culprits have been caught on CCTV. It was just a squiggle, which could have been someone’s name.

“It was like a white, powdery substance and one lady managed to rub some of it off with her hand.

“But the memorial is made of a soft sandstone and you can still see what has been put on there. Hopefully we can get rid of it.

“It is sad but I expect that we can catch the culprits and the police can deal with it.”

Bryan Thompson, Pendle council operational services spokes-man, said: “We’ve done the best we can to remove the graffiti, but there is still some remaining.

“We don’t want to risk damage to the stonework, so we’ve asked a specialist company to help remove the last traces.

“We have spoken to the police and they’re making enquiries.

"The area is covered by CCTV, so we are hopeful we will catch whoever is responsible.”