Community leaders have blasted bigoted vandals as even more sectarian graffiti has been spotted in Ferguslie Park.
We told earlier this week how mindless vandals had repeatedly targeted Glencoats Lodge Nursery by defacing the word lodge.
Bosses at the children’s centre said the sign outside the building has been damaged more than a dozen times.
Staff believe the vandalism is fuelled by sectarianism, with louts targeting the building due to the use of the word lodge, which they are linking to Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland - the oldest and biggest Protestant fraternity in Scotland.
Now, more graffiti – which references the 66 victims of the Ibrox disaster in 1971 and HH, for ‘Hail Hail’ – has been daubed outside the old entrance of Ferguslie Park police station and on junction boxes across the road.
John McIntyre, chair of Ferguslie Park Community Council, said: “On behalf of the community council and the wider Ferguslie community I would like to say we are inclusive in all that we do down here.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, we don’t discriminate between anybody. If there’s anybody in the scheme who needs help, they get it regardless of their personal beliefs.
“I strongly believe this is a minority group carrying out this and I would urge them to stop this behaviour.
“There is no place for this in Ferguslie Park.”
The graffiti outside Ferguslie Park police station first appeared about six weeks ago. It was reported and cleaned off twice before reappearing again this week.
Another member of the community council, Mark Kirkland, said: “This has got to stop in Ferguslie.
“I told Renfrewshire Council the first time and it was removed. Then the 66 and the stairs came back and was removed again. This is the third time, it’s not fair.
“I represent all members of the community as a community councillor. You can’t have this sort of thing here, it will stir up unrest.”
Paisley police said they were aware of the vandalism at Glencoats Lodge Nursery and outside the police station.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of a number of incidents of vandalism involving graffiti in the Ferguslie Park area and investigations are ongoing.
“This type of behaviour is unacceptable and hampers the efforts of the local community who are working extremely hard in Ferguslie.
“It also diverts vital funds to repair and remove this graffiti which could be better used in the community.”
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