Teenage yobs caught graffitiing swastikas on a football clubhouse were handed in by their ‘mortified’ parents and ordered to clean it up.
Shanklin Football Club on the Isle of Wight launched an appeal to track down the young louts after multiple images of the Nazi symbol appeared around the building.
Swastikas were sprayed onto a shutter, a side door, and even the club’s defibrillator which is used to save lives in the event someone goes into cardiac arrest.
The club posted photos of the revolting graffiti on social media, alongside CCTV images showing the faces of the offenders, who were dressed in tracksuits with their hoods up.
Parents of two of the teenagers were horrified to recognise their sons and reached out to the club, offering to haul them back and make them clean it up.
The older brother of one took more direct action, marching the boy down to the club and putting him to work removing the swastikas.
The club said the two parents who got in touch had been ‘mortified’.
Shanklin FC said it had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the response from the community, particularly from parents who saw their children’s image posted on social media and contacted the club after learning about the damage.
The local community was quick to rally around the club and join in their condemnation of the vile act.
Shanklin FC said: ‘We are overwhelmed at the local community’s response for information about the graffiti at our club and local Defibrillator so want to thank everyone.
‘We really hope they can learn from this and realise that the club and facilities are for everyone in the town, including themselves, should they ever wish to get into football or other community events.’
Island Roads, the local highway service, mucked in to help remove the graffiti.
A spokesperson said: ‘After seeing a defib in Shanklin had been vandalised and potentially life-saving equipment obscured, we were happy to help our friends at Isle of Wight Defibrillators and clean away the graffiti.’
The football club reported the incident to police and confirmed that CCTV footage had been handed over as part of the investigation.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary later confirmed it had received a report of criminal damage on buildings and vehicles at the site.
Police believe the damage took place sometime between 6pm on Sunday, January 4, and 4pm on Monday, January 5.
No arrests have been made, and officers are appealing for anyone with information to come forward by calling 101 and quoting reference number 44260008286.
