Three murals and a memorial plaque have been defaced by vandals in a sectarian attack in the Fountain.

The incident occurred in the predominantly unionist estate on Sunday, November 13.

Inspector Fell said: “Police received a report shortly after 1.45pm that three murals and a memorial plaque in The Fountain had been defaced by paint sometime between 00.30am and 2am.

“It was also reported that a memorial from a centenary garden at a nearby school in the area had been stolen and remains outstanding at this time. One man is believed to have made off towards the Craigavon Bridge area following the incident.”

Police at Strand Road believe the attack was motivated by sectarianism.

“Enquiries are continuing and at this time, this is being treated as a sectarian motivated hate crime.

“We would appeal to anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area between the reported time, to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 971 13/11/22.”