COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Council officers had to fish them out of the water



Fury has erupted after floral tributes left for The Queen in Nuneaton were dumped in the River Anker. They had been tenderly laid in the George Eliot Gardens, just behind the Town Hall, some with moving messages to the late Monarch.

But council staff were left horrified when they noticed that all of the flowers had been picked up and flung into the nearby stretch of the River Anker. The actions of the vandals have been condemned by the whole community.

And the incident has left Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader, councillor Kris Wilson, incensed. In a statement, the Town Hall leader described it as a 'reprehenisble' act.

"I am horrified at this reprehensible act," he said. "That someone would think this was an appropriate thing to do beggars belief.

"There is no excuse for such a disrespectful act." He paid tribute to members of the council's environmental team for quickly getting the flowers out of the water and back on display.

"I am very pleased to say council staff acted promptly and the tributes are back in their rightful place - on public display," he said. "If anyone wishes to place flowers in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, there is still time to do so at George Eliot Gardens, Nuneaton, or next to All Saints Church in Bedworth."