Racist graffiti found sprayed around bay
RACIST and homophobic graffiti was sprayed across a Cardiff suburb.
The swastika sign and other offensive material appeared in Cardiff Bay yesterday, weeks after similar graffiti appeared in Grangetown the day before an anti-racism march took place.
A swastika and the word “nazizone” were graffitied on walls near Roald Dahl Plas and a homophobic slur was sprayed on hoarding promoting the The Lady Boys of Bangkok show.
South Wales Police said the graffiti and posters have been removed and inquiries are being made.
BBC researcher Jodie Ashdown spotted the graffiti at around 9.15am as she walked to work.
Jodie, 32, from Canton, said: “Obviously it’s pretty horrible. It’s shocking because the Bay is a multicutural area.
“There’s been a fair bit of political upheaval lately, maybe it’s become more acceptable to voice these opinions.
“There was a big group of school kids playing while waiting for the boat right next to some of it too.
“It’s such a beautiful sunny day too and then I walked to work and saw that.”
At around 3.30am yesterday police received information of a man causing criminal damage in Cardiff Bay.
He was seen by local security guards running in the direction of the Red Dragon Centre.
A spokeswoman said the graffiti has been removed, posters have been taken down and CCTV is being reviewed as inquiries are being made to identify the person responsible.
She added that officers are keeping an open mind whether the incident is linked to similar offensive graffiti in Grangetown last month.
In March a swastika and other racist material appeared on walls in Grangetown the day before the Cardiff March Against Racism march took place.
An investigation was launched to track down the culprits and officers carried out house-tohouse inquiries in the area.
Chief Inspector Joe Jones said: “Clearly such behaviour is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“Cardiff is a modern, multicultural city where people of different religions, faiths and cultures live side by side and have done for many, many years.
“There will be increased patrols in the area and hate crime officers are visiting places of worship today to update communities.
“We always encourage victims of hate crime to contact us as we have specialist officers who can offer support and assistance.”
A leading anti-racism group said it believed the same people were responsible for the latest graffiti.
Joe Redmond, joint secretary of Stand up to Racism Cardiff, said: “My initial thoughts are that it’s the same people.
“Once again it’s been done under the cover of darkness at night.
“More than likely it’s an individual or a small group of people.
“We will continue fighting against the far right and keep them on the fringes.”
A Cardiff council spokesman said: “We condemn all graffiti in the strongest possible terms and the offensive graffiti has now been removed.”
Anyone with information or concerns is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting occurrence number *136830.