COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

'Specialist advice' needed to rid Lady Godiva of graffiti as CCTV footage trawled



Cleaning teams are making a second attempt to clean the Lady Godiva statue today after it was defaced by vandals over the weekend.

The council will be seeking specialist advice after its first attempt to remove the stubborn graffiti failed.

The leader of the council told CoventryLive he was "angry and disappointed" after the much-loved statue on Broadgate was targetted.

West Midlands Police said they did not have a record of any crime reported at the statue over the weekend but the council will be supplying the force with CCTV footage from the city centre to try and track down the vandals.

Leader of Coventry City Council councillor George Duggins, said: “Lady Godiva is a respected symbol of our city and like many others who have seen the graffiti, I’m angry and disappointed that this has happened.

“Our crews have attempted to clean her over the weekend but the graffiti is proving very difficult to remove.

"The team are out again today and we are contacting specialist cleaners for advice.

“We are looking at CCTV footage and will be passing this to the police.”

West Midlands Police said they did not have a record of any crime reported at the statue over the weekend

Vandals target Lady Godiva statue AGAIN



More graffiti has been daubed on the Lady Godiva statue in Broadgate after vandals first targeted the monument over the weekend.

On Sunday, graffiti was discovered scrawled over the side of the plinth facing Primark and on Tuesday more has been found on the opposite side.

Coventry City Council said yesterday its cleaning team was making a second attempt to get rid of the markings, which were "proving very difficult to remove", and specialist advice has been sought.

The new markings are green in colour and appear to spell out several names including 'Hollie' and 'Jody'.

Man arrested after Lady Godiva statue vandalised twice



Police have arrested a man after the Lady Godiva statue in Broadgate was scrawled with graffiti.

It was discovered covering one side of the statue's plinth on Sunday morning, and today markings appeared on the opposite side too.

A 43-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remained in custody this afternoon.

The arrest comes after police acquired CCTV footage from the scene.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police told CoventryLive: "Police investigating two incidents of criminal damage to the Lady Godiva statue in Broadgate, Coventry city centre, have arrested a 43-year-old man.

"It was reported that the statue had graffiti emblazoned on it on both Sunday (9 September) and early this morning (Tuesday 11 September).

"Following CCTV enquiries, a Coventry man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remains in police custody this afternoon."

...43-year-old...

Man charged over Lady Godiva statue vandalism

Police have charged a man with criminal damage over a graffiti attack on the Lady Godiva statue in Coventry city centre.

John Kiely, of The Farmstead, Stoke Aldermoor, is due to appear before Coventry Magistrates Court this morning.

The 43-year-old has been charged with three counts of criminal damage.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police told CoventryLive yesterday: "Police investigating two incidents of criminal damage to the Lady Godiva statue in Broadgate, Coventry city centre, have arrested a 43-year-old man.

"It was reported that the statue had graffiti emblazoned on it on both Sunday (9 September) and early this morning (Tuesday 11 September)."

Kiely was charged with the offences on Tuesday evening.

Man jailed for vandalising Lady Godiva statue



A man who vandalised the Lady Godiva statue in Coventry has been jailed.

John Kiely, 43, of The Farmstead, Stoke Aldermoor, was charged with three counts of criminal damage on Tuesday evening.

He appeared at Coventry Magistrates Court this morning, where he was jailed for eight weeks.