Man charged after military statue damaged in Ramsgate just days before D-Day anniversary

A man has been charged after a military silhouette in Ramsgate was damaged, just days before the anniversary of the D-Day landing.

Officers from Kent Police responded to calls after a man was seen with what appeared to be a weapon near West Cliff Promenade, Ramsgate, at 5pm on May 29.

When officers arrived on scene, they arrested Kaine McCullum, of Northdown Road, Cliftonville in connection with the incident.

Patrols previously said a man snapped off a rifle which belonged to one of the 338 "Standing with Giants" silhouettes currently in place around Ramsgate Harbour.

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The installations will be around the site until the end of this month, to represent every 1,000 soldiers rescued from the beaches in Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo.

Mr McCullum has been charged with criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, common assault and using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The 39-year-old first appeared at Margate Magistrates' Court on Monday.

The defacing of wartime statues has become a rising concern in recent months, with a bronze monument of Winston Churchill damaged in February.

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The statue in Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, was defaced with phrases including "Stop the Genocide" and "Free Palestine".

Further graffiti read "Never again is Now" and "Globalise the Intifada" sprayed in red paint.

The Metropolitan Police arrested in relation to the incident, where a man was charged with criminal damage.

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