LIVE: Police guard in place around Greater Manchester war memorial after 'free Palestine' graffitied on it - updates

A war memorial is currently being 'guarded by police' this evening after being vandalised with 'free Palestine graffiti'.

The cenotaph, at the Esplanade in Rochdale, was first stripped of its poppies over the weekend before Palestinian flags were put there.

And today, graffiti reading 'free Palestine' was sprayed onto the memorial, which Rochdale Council have called a 'totally unacceptable' act that is now being investigated.

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The memorial is currently being guarded by Police Community Support Officers this evening, as well as an increase in local police patrols following the spate of incidents.

This is a live incident. Updates to follow.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: "On the afternoon of Tuesday 7 November graffiti was sprayed on the Cenotaph. This is totally unacceptable and is also being investigated by police. The graffiti will be removed as soon as we are able to.

"As we said in our initial response – we are proud of our strong links with our armed forces community. Our war memorials and monuments are incredibly important and should be respected by everyone at all times."

Chief Superintendent Nicky Porter, GMP Rochdale district commander, said: “We join communities across Rochdale in being deeply saddened by the incidents at the Cenotaph – the memorial is a particularly poignant reminder of those who have given their lives to our country, particularly at this time year.

“We will not tolerate the criminal disrespect of the town’s Memorial Gardens and I hope the action we