A SPORTS pavilion dedicated to the sportsmen of Watchet who lost their lives in World War One was sprayed with obscene graffiti by vandals only hours before the town commemorated Remembrance Sunday.

Ground staff and members of the War Memorial Ground management committee worked to clean up the building in time for the town’s Remembrance service on Monday.

Doors, seats and windows of the 90-year-old pavilion were sprayed with gold-coloured aerosol paint. A plaque explaining that the building was a memorial to local sportsmen was also attacked.

Management committee chairman Jim Nicholas said: “This was a despicable act and particularly upsetting it being on the eve of Remembrance Sunday.

“The perpetrators should be thoroughly ashamed of their actions and I hope they will be caught very quickly.”

Police believe it could have been part of an organised wave of vandalism which hit the area last weekend.

Toilets in Harbour Road, Watchet, were damaged, a railway bridge near Doniford and a road sign near the former married quarters were sprayed with the same gold paint.

In September, a shed on the Memorial Ground used to store cricket equipment, was destroyed and will cost at least £1,000 to replace.

Cricket club captain Martin Strong said at the time: “The general view is that the fire was started deliberately as a piece of senseless vandalism.”

Mr Nicholas said that a CCTV camera which covered the pavilion had, like the rest of the town’s surveillance system, been out of action for over 12 months. Cameras are the responsibility of Somerset West and Taunton Council.

Mr Nicholas added: “It’s especially distressing that this incident happened on a very important weekend for the town. Vandalism is a growing problem in the area which needs stamping out as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information on the vandalism attacks is asked to call Avon and Somerset police and quote reference number CRN5219260316.