Twisted vandals desecrated Dreghorn's war memorial by throwing dog excrement over it at the weekend.
They also destroyed some of the wreaths laid around the memorial and defaced Help For Heroes benches.
The vandals went on to rip out box hedging plants, strew rubbish from a nearby bin around the site and threw broken glass around.
Even little crosses made by the local Brownie group were wrecked.
The vandalism saddened and outraged local residents when they found out about the incident on Monday, March 11.
One angry local resident asked: "Who would decide to desecrate a war memorial with dog s***?
"They even destroyed the wreaths and crosses that had been left there."
Councillor Tony Gurney, North Ayrshire's Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy, said: “This is a disgraceful and disgusting act of vandalism and everyone at North Ayrshire Council is appalled by it.
"We share the anger and frustration of local residents.
“Our Streetscene Officers have been notified and will clear the mess at the earliest opportunity. If anyone has any information please contact Police Scotland on 101.”
The war memorial, in an isolated location at the east end of the village, had been subjected to vandalism in recent years, but in late 2023 two local volunteers joined forces with North Ayrshire's Streetscene team to clear up the area and make it more attractive for visitors.
Read more: https://www.irvinetimes.com/news/23916090.dreghorn-men-transform-war-memorial-littering/
A spate of anti-social behaviour had seen the memorial being vandalised, wheelie bins being dragged near it and set alight, hedges being ripped up, and litter being strewn around.
Local residents John Logan and Robert Gourlay tidied up the area by cleaning the paving slabs, planting bushes and plants, weeding, cutting the grass and painting existing benches.
The council helped by supplying new benches and plants and resurfacing a section of the whinstone track to improve access to the site.
John said at the time: "The views are beautiful from the memorial, so Robert and I thought it deserved some time and effort to improve things.
“We contacted Streetscene around March to talk through some ideas. They gave us hedges, bushes, plants, paint, a picnic bench and two new memorial benches.
“We cut the grass, created a short path – where the ground was waterlogged - to the woods, cleaned the surrounding wall, cleared the algae and have maintained it. It has been a total turnaround and the support from the council has been great.”
Councillor Jim Montgomerie, North Ayrshire Council’s veterans' champion, said at the time of the restoration work: “What a difference this effort has made.
“The feedback from the people of Dreghorn has been positive, and this is now an area where families out for a stroll and people walking their dogs can sit, take in the fantastic view and reflect.”
North Ayrshire Council confirmed this afternoon that a Streetscene team had attended the memorial and cleared up the mess.
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