Hundreds of pounds worth of flowers stolen from national war memorial

Thieves have stolen hundreds of pounds worth of new flowers from a national memorial to Scotland’s fallen.

The crooks removed entire beds of flowers from the Veterans Memorial – one of the nation’s only monuments to living veterans as well as fallen heroes – in Knightswood, Glasgow.

Dedicated 11 years ago, the memorial and surrounding gardens were paid for by veterans across the country. The incident has shocked many civilians and ex-service personnel.

Former paratrooper Terry McCourt, the memorial’s custodian, said: “To say we are all angry and stunned by this is an understatement.”

Last year, Terry, from Glasgow, and his comrades unveiled plaques to local heroes including Sergeant John Hannah who won the Victoria Cross after suffering horrific injuries as he battled a fire on his aircraft during a raid over Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1940, aged 18. John later died, aged 25, as a result of his injuries.

Ex-sergeant, Terry, said: “We are urging people to keep an eye out in case they notice that suddenly somebody has a new flower display in their front or back garden.”

Police Scotland said: “We have received a report and enquiries are at an early stage.”