People in Horncastle say they are “absolutely disgusted” at graffiti plastered over signage, bins and people’s homes in the town.
Locals are calling for the graffiti off Hemingby Lane to be treated as a hate crime, sharing images of a spray painted swastika and what appears to be a Celtic cross, which has been linked to white nationalism and neo-nazism.
Also sprayed on the Bain Valley Park signage is a pentagram, 666, and 88 – a number that has reportedly been used as a white supremacist numerical code for ‘Heil Hitler’.
Photo: Zuky Batten
“Sinister things happen here” and “I own this town” is written among the symbols.
Zuky Batten, who took the images, said her friend’s house had also been defaced. “If anyone has any idea who these scumbags are, get in touch with the police!”
Sally Gledhill wrote in response to Zuky’s Facebook post: “The bank in the marketplace had it on the windows and the roadworks signs in Markham Road. Obviously been busy defacing stuff right across town!”
Lincolnshire Police told Lincolnshire Reporter the graffiti was being investigated and asked anyone who has information to come forward.
“This has been reported to us and we are investigating”, a spokesperson said.
“We would like to ask anyone with any information as to who is responsible to call 101 with incident reference 88 of 26 September.”
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A senior lecturer recently celebrated the news that East Midlands Railway will increase its train capacity on what he felt was an “overcrowded” service between Lincoln and Leicester.
Amir Badiee lives in Loughborough and for the past seven years has been commuting to his job at the University of Lincoln, but over the last two years he believes the train service has got worse. When he complained back in March he said he didn’t receive any response, but he believes his recent concerns aired in The Lincolnite helped to prompt a positive outcome.
Schools and universities in Lincolnshire recognise the potential benefits, but also the concerns, over the use of artificial intelligence.
The results of the government’s first ever Call for Evidence on Artificial Intelligence in Education’ report were published on Tuesday, November 28. It was open for 10 weeks and closed on August 23 this year, with 567 responses received during that time. Most respondents were “broadly optimistic” about the use of GenAI in education.