Liverpool's Nelson Mandela memorial vandalised in 'deliberate act of racism'

Mandela8 said the act was 'calculated' and 'must have taken have an immense level of effort'.

A spokesperson for the charity continued: "This most recent attack is a stark reminder that acts of racism are occurring in the heart of our Liverpool 8 community and Mandela8 condemns this behaviour and the people who have committed this racist vandalism to the memorial.

"To attack a memorial to Nelson Mandela, a man whose compassion saw him forgive those who committed unspeakable acts against him and looked for peace and reconciliation, not revenge for his incarnation on his release from prison, says a lot about the people who committed this malicious act. This act will not detract us from our work, it makes us more determined to stand up to racism in all its forms."

The charity added that the incident has been reported to Merseyside Police as a racist act as deliberate vandalism and that it evidences 'more than ever' the need for the memorial.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We are appealing for information after a memorial site in a Toxteth park was vandalised with offensive graffiti on it.

"On Monday 6 November officers were patrolling Princess Park when they came across criminal damage and racist graffiti written on the Mandela memorial site.

"Officers are appealing for information and continuing to provide a visible presence in the area. Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime in any form and is working to identify and bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing a hate crime."