Ripon’s rare cabmen’s shelter on Market Square has been vandalised for the third time in seven months.
City police were informed yesterday evening after it was discovered that the locked door of the shelter had been forced open.
This caused damage to the door frame of the Grade II listed building.
The Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin, who visited the scene yesterday evening, told the Stray Ferret:
“This is the third time that I have been called out to see the wilful and mindless damage that has been caused to the shelter by vandals.
“They clearly have no consideration for anybody else’s property and I just hope that with the CCTV we have in place in the city centre, the police will look through the footage, identify those involved and make arrests.”
The shelter, which dates back to 1911 and is the only moveable listed building in the country, also had windows broken by vandals in March and June.
The Ripon Civic Society plaque on the shelter’s door.
The shelter, which is owned by Ripon City Council, underwent a major refurbishment costing £22,000 before being returned to Market Square in September 2020.
Ripon has suffered from recurring incidents of violent and anti-social behaviour ranging from assaults to attacks on property.
Last week, North Yorkshire Police launched a survey designed to call on the views of local people into the issues affecting the city.
The survey asks residents for their views on alcohol-related litter, young people drinking in public places, young people being rowdy and asking for adults to buy alcohol for them.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:
“We’re keen to hear your thoughts on the issues around young people and alcohol in your community.
“We’re working with the organisation Community Alcohol Partnerships to bring local partners together to discuss, tackle and protect our community from anti-social behaviour often caused by underage drinking
“The first step in this process is to find out local residents’ views and thoughts on the issue so it’s really important we get as many people to take part in the survey as possible.”
People can have their say by clicking or tapping here.
Calls for more police as anti-semitic graffiti remains in Knaresborough
Anti-semitic graffiti is still covering some of Knaresborough’s key monuments, amid calls for more police officers to patrol the streets.
The town’s 12th century castle and statues of Blind Jack and Mother Shipton on Market Place were defaced in an overnight attack on Saturday night.
Crude images and Nazi swastikas remain sprayed on the side of the castle and the bronze statues in the Market Place are still discoloured.
The castle graffiti is situated in full view of Knaresborough police station, which has cameras on top of the roof.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:
“We have launched an investigation in to the graffiti from the Castlegate area of Knaresborough. All lines of enquiry are currently been pursued.
“North Yorkshire Police takes all reports of hate crime seriously. Anyone who is the victim of a hate crime is encouraged to report the incident to police via 101.”
Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement today it was aware of the vandalism and was looking into the best way for it to be removed but gave no timeframe.
Councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
“It is incredibly disappointing that someone, or a group of individuals, have found it appropriate to deface the heritage of Knaresborough in this way and we will be doing what we can to identify those responsible.
“If any members of the public witnessed any of the damage being carried out, or if any businesses have their own CCTV in the area that has captured any relevant footage, I would encourage them to contact North Yorkshire Police as soon as possible.”
Steve Teggin, a local business owner and the chair of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, said anti-social behaviour was becoming a serious concern for local businesses.
He said further action needed to be taken, including more police officers in the town:
Swastikas sprayed as Knaresborough monuments desecrated“The chamber and traders are getting quite concerned. Ninety per cent of people visiting Knaresborough are great and contribute to the economy but there are some letting us down. There just isn’t enough police presence and people thing they can get away with stuff.
“We need more police on the streets.”
Some of Knaresborough’s most famous monuments were vandalised in a shocking rampage last night.
Nazi swastikas and naked genitals were graffitied on to the wall of the town’s 12th century castle.
Whoever did it climbed up the side of the castle into the castle’s King’s Chambers, which is in full sight of Knaresborough police station.
Town centre statues of Blind Jack and Mother Shipton were also covered in spray paint overnight. Several signs and information boards were covered in paint.
The Stray Ferret spoke to shocked locals at the castle and in the Market Place today, where the bronze statues of road builder John Metcalf, better known as Blind Jack, and prophetess Mother Shipton, had been desecrated.
Knaresborough castle
One local resident, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret:
“I’m shocked and disgusted that this has taken place. It’s absolutely vile.”
Another person visiting the town said:
“Who in their right mind does this kind of thing?”
The Stray Ferret has chosen not to show the graffiti on the castle wall, which contains a hateful anti-semitic message as well as swastikas and crude sexual imagery.
‘Mindless idiots’ vandalise planters in Harrogate
A Harrogate business organisation has criticised “mindless idiots” for vandalising planters on the town’s Beulah Street.
Business owners on the street arrived this morning to find the planters had been damaged overnight and they had to clear the mess up themselves.
The planters were put in place last year by Harrogate Business Improvement District in an effort to improve the look of the town centre.
Around 20 businesses were given floral displays as part of the project in October. The BID also installed 120 hanging baskets across the town, including Beulah Street.
A spokesperson for Harrogate BID told the Stray Ferret that it was now in the process of replacing the planters and working with Harrogate Borough Council to look at CCTV from the street.
They added:
Vandals seriously damage Stray cherry trees again“We are very disappointed by this. This was some mindless idiots who do not care for the town centre. Our remit is to make the town centre good.
“We are not going to be put off by some idiots.”
Eight cherry trees on the Stray has been vandalised over the weekend.
Some of the trees line the footpath known as Cherry Tree Walk, opposite the Kwik Fit garage, where branches have been deliberately broken or snapped off.
Vandalism to the trees has become a persistent problem with regular incidents over the past year.
In October last year, local police officer, Sgt Paul Cording tweeted about a number of trees “destroyed and killed” on York Place Stray.
Last summer there were reports of vandalism affecting young trees when local police officers were attempting to crack down on large groups congregating illegally on the Stray.
“What a sad and sorry sight to see these beautiful trees subjected to mindless vandalism once again.
Many have been planted in memory of loved ones and many for victims of the thalidomide tragedy. In every case love and consideration has gone into the planting of these trees which bring so much pleasure to so many In Harrogate and beyond.
As I said only recently when another tree was vandalised, this is utterly appalling and disgraceful behaviour. There is no polite way of describing the perpetrators of these abysmal acts. Devastating in every way and for everyone. Despicable behaviour, just despicable.”
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said its parks team would assess the damage to the trees and remove broken branches.
Vandals may force Harrogate shop to remove iconic bears
A Harrogate children’s clothing shop may be forced to remove its iconic bears after they became the target of vandals.
Milk and Honey of Harrogate, on Cheltenham Parade, has displayed the bears outside for five years but in the last couple of months they have suffered a lot of damage.
Sarah Elizabeth Wood, the shop manager, takes in the smaller bears overnight and locks the largest bear with a chain locked but even this is not enough to deter troublemakers.
Following the latest attack, which happened just after 3am on Sunday morning, Mrs Wood is considering whether the bears should remain.
CCTV footage from the night showed three people, believed to be teenage boys, attack the bear with a stick before pulling it to the floor and jumping on it.
Mrs Wood told the Stray Ferret:
“I do think the red carpet and the bears help us get customers because it makes us stand out.
“Everyone who walks past at least comments on the bears or takes a photo with them. So it would just be really sad if we have to take them away.
“I don’t think the bears can take anymore. One more weekend of them being ravaged like that and they will have to go.”
Mrs Wood has tried to repair the broken feet and ears of the bears but she fears that if they are damaged again they may become unstable and fall on people.
She put out a post on Facebook yesterday evening warning that the bears days may be numbered.
The post has had hundreds of reactions, with many people sharing stories of their time with the bears.
Bishop speaks out after more vandalism in RiponThe Bishop of Ripon has spoken out about vandals after another incident in the city.
Dr Helen-Ann Hartley’s comments come after she saw the Welcome to Ripon sign on the North Bridge approach to the city had been vandalised.
She told the Stray Ferret:
“I was greatly saddened to see the Welcome to Ripon sign smashed up.
“Sadly, a minority are clearly intent on inflicting harm on our local community.
“While I appreciate there are many challenges that people face today, destroying things of value is not the answer.
“I hope whoever is doing this, can pause to reflect on how their actions hurt others, and think again before they smash something else up.”
Destroyed and discarded — the sign was torn down and thrown off the bridge.
The sign, bearing the words: ‘Welcome to Ripon, Stay Awhile Amid its Ancient Charms’ was erected in 1986 by the city’s civic society, in memory of former member Catherine Elmes.
Dr Hartley said:
“I remember early on when we moved here, I walked into Ripon and stopped at the sign and took a photo of it.
“I felt pleased to be in our new home here.”
The plaque in memory of Catherine Elmes on the vandalised sign
The North Bridge ‘welcome’ sign is one of two on the approaches to the city centre — the other being at the junction of Harrogate Road and Quarry Moor Road.
Vandalism, alongside other anti-social behaviour, is a recurring problem in Ripon.
The cabmen’s shelter — a rare heritage item and listed building on Market Square — had its windows smashed twice in the space of three months.
Prior to this, vandals also broke windows at Ripon Town Hall and the Ripon Cathedral office and deliberately damaged the protective rubberised surface of the children’s playground in Grove Lane.
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott visited the city last month and pledged investment in policing to address the spike in anti-social behaviour.
He said he intended to give local officers the resources they needed, including a phased investment in the city’s combined police and fire station on Stonebridgegate.
Up to nine cars vandalised in minutes on same Bilton streetUp to nine cars have been vandalised in the space of a few minutes on the same street in Bilton.
Three young people in hoodies are being blamed for the incident, which occurred at about 5am yesterday on Dene Park.
The Stray Ferret visited the area last night and saw several car windows smashed.
Residents said the youngsters were seen running up the street damaging the cars during the early morning spree and that police had subsequently been in the area taking statements.
The residents added there had been a spate of attacks on homes and cars lately but this was the worst so far.
One Dene Park resident, who asked not to be named, said:
“How do I know it won’t be my front window that gets smashed next?
“This has been going on for a while and we know who the culprits are. It’s very worrying.”
The resident said nine cars had been damaged but another person in the area said they believed the number was seven.
The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Police about the incident yesterday but has not yet had a response.
Ripon suffers further violent and anti-social behaviour
Police in Ripon have further violent and anti-social behaviour to investigate this morning.
Last night a man in the city suffered cuts when he was hit in the face with a stone thrown by a thug.
The incident was reported on social media by the man’s wife, as a warning to others.
She said:
“The small minority of trouble-making kids are at it again in Ripon town centre.”
The woman advised others to take care:
The stone, which cut her husband’s forehead, narrowly missed his eye and glasses.
It was thrown by one of a group she said were ‘hanging out’ in the alley next to M&Co in Fishergate.
Pictured above is the alley near where the attack took place, and the CCTV camera on Market Square North.
Just yards away from where the incident occurred is a CCTV camera that faces onto Market Square.
Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council, told the Stray Ferret:
“I just hope that the camera captured images of the group, which can help the police with their enquiries and to make arrests.
“I’m also hopeful that the camera will assist them in catching the vandal or vandals, who smashed windows at the cabmen’s shelter at the weekend.
“It’s the second time in a matter of weeks that it has been attacked and we now face another repair bill.”
Cllr Williams, has led the city council’s calls for more patrols, high-visibility policing and use of mobile CCTV in Ripon.
He and fellow councillors have said they want to work alongside the police to eradicate Ripon’s recurring problems of violence, vandalism and criminal behaviour.
Police were informed after three windows were smashed in the cabmen’s shelter.
It’s the second time in less than three months that the unique structure belonging to the city council has been vandalised.
Dating back to the days of horse-drawn transport — it is the UK’s only mobile listed building, after Royal Engineers installed wheels as part of a re-fit.
The shelter recently underwent a further extensive refurbishment costing £22,000, before being returned to Market Square.
Vandalised Nidd Gorge bench to be replaced for freeA family whose memorial bench in Nidd Gorge was vandalised on Friday has been informed by Harrogate Borough Council the bench will be replaced free of cost.
Sylvia James, who erected the bench for her late husband Colin in 2016, told the Stray Ferret she received the news from the council this morning.
She said the council had said it would replace the bench for free because the cast-iron end pieces were still intact.
Ms James set up a fundraising page to raise money to cover the cost. Although she set a target of £300, a relative then told her that the cost may be as high as £1000.
Ms James said the bench was incredibly important to her because of the shared memories she had with her late husband:
“When Colin was really ill we would park the car on Bilton Lane and he could just about manage to walk to the bench round the corner from there and he’d sit there and get his strength back. So obviously I want it in the same place, it’s for the memory that goes with it.”
The fundraiser has raised £540 so far. Mrs James had planned to donate any excess money to Saint Michael’s Hospice, which helped care for Mr James during his illness.
Now she intends to donate the full amount to the hospice. Mrs James said of the hospice:
“They were just marvellous, they really looked after him.”
We did not receive a response from the council by the time of publication.