Villagers have been left angry and upset after a war memorial was ‘ruined’.
Colerne residents this morning (7 November) woke to find damage to the Market Place memorial, which displayed dozens of artificial poppies.
From photographs shared on social media, it appeared most of the poppies had been knocked flat – with some strew across the road.
There also appeared to be a hole in the grass within the boundary of the memorial. It’s believed to have been caused by a motor vehicle’s wheel spinning.
‘It’s appalling what’s happened, but maybe it’s a very unfortunate accident’, local man Ciaran O’Connor said as he urged the person responsible to come forward.
He added: ‘Hopefully the person or persons involved will come forward and we as a village and community can get together and repair and restore this as much as possible ready for next weeks memorials.’
The person responsible is asked to contact the Royal British Legion’s Colerne Branch via their website.
It’s not clear whether Wiltshire Police has been informed.
Another local resident, who didn’t wish to be named, said: ‘I know it could have been an innocent accident, but why would you leave it like that? It makes me so angry.
‘Surely you try and make amends you tell someone you’ve ruined it. The only thing I can think is it was a drunk driver or something and they don’t want to be caught.’