Police looking for four teenage girls over City Walls vandalism
Graffiti sprayed on a section of the historic walls "will cost a significant amount of money" to fix
The graffiti on the City Walls(Image: Cheshire Constabulary)
Police investigating the vandalism of Chester's historic City Walls want to speak to four teenage girls in connection with the incident. Following an appeal for witnesses earlier this week, officers say further information has been uncovered.
Police were alerted to the graffiti on Monday (March 9). It was reported that four girls had been seen spraying white paint on a section of the walls near the Cathedral and Northgate at around 4.33pm.
Following enquiries, officers have identified four girls - believed to be aged between 13 and 16 years old - who are thought to be connected to the incident. They are all described as white, all with dark brown or black hair and wearing blue, black and grey tracksuits.
They were first seen at 4.07pm outside the Poundland store before heading up Eastgate Street towards the Cathedral. They then continued up Northgate Street and accessed the city walls. They are believed to have committed the damage before leaving the walls at around 4.57pm.
Police Constable Jono Lightfoot said: "This may seem like a trivial incident, but Chester’s city walls are strictly protected under the law and, due to the type of paint used on the stones, the operation to properly treat and clean these sections of the walls is going to take a considerable amount of time and will cost a significant amount of money.
"After extensive CCTV enquiries and a number of people already coming forward with information, we have now established the movements and descriptions of four teenagers believed to be involved in the incident. We are also keen to hear from anyone who may have seen them on the day, or who has CCTV or dashcam footage, and would ask them to review their videos to see if the girls have been captured.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal directly to the four girls and ask them to do the right thing: come forward and work with us to put right what has happened." Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police via the website or on 101, quoting IML-2285695.