Fury as yobs desecrate Warsop Remembrance poppy display
Residents in Warsop were left devastated to discover youths had trashed the village’s beloved poppy display just five hours after it had been completed.
The display, which started in 2013, takes a team of volunteers weeks to assemble, and they were heartbroken to discover a group of young children had damaged the memorial just hours after its completion.
The commemorative poppies, which are each named with the identity of a fallen soldier had been removed from their location and thrown, which residents say felt to them like they had ‘desecrated’ the graves of the soldiers.
Upon hearing the news, volunteers rushed to the display and began working fervently to repair the damage and tidy up.
Vik Filep, one of the volunteers, said: “It happened just short of five hours after they'd finished working on the display.
“They responded as fast as possible to make repairs and tidy up.
“This is the first time that any vandalism has taken place in all the years we've been doing this.
“Hopefully the parents will read the stories that cover the pride and pain that the team feel – it certainly feels personal!
“The aim is to make silhouettes for every hero on the Cenotaph and we're currently less than halfway through, as covid has stopped us twice with lockdowns.
“This is a small team, mainly of retired volunteers, working for free and relying on much-needed donations of money and materials, often dipping into their own pockets just to get things done.
“Some people are under the misconception that it's all done by the local council and businesses but it's not, it is just a dedicated bunch of local people that are proud to help their community.”
Coun Debra Barlow, Mansfield Council member for Market Warsop ward, said: “I am extremely saddened to hear of the vandalism.
“Firstly to me it felt like they had desecrated graves, then I was angry for the volunteers who’d taken their own time and money to make Market Warsop’s commemoration to the fallen a special event year on year.
“The people responsible need educating on our history and to know that all of those people named on those poppies had lived in the Parish.”
For more information on the work that the volunteers do, visit their Facebook page, Warsop’s Field of Dreams.
