Neo-Nazi graffiti appears in area of city

A RESIDENT of Bristol said he is shocked and concerned after obscure neo-Nazi graffiti was sprayed in Clifton.

The man, who declined to be named, spotted the strange markings in many places on Whiteladies Road over the weekend.

He said that although the vast majority of people wouldn’t know its sinister meaning, as someone with a history in the punk and tattoo scene in Bristol, he recognised the red graffiti as a Nazi, white supremacist symbol.

The symbols appeared on several empty buildings, including the boards in front of the Penny pub opposite Clifton Down Shopping Centre, along with a Halifax cash machine, pictured below, hoardings in Victoria Street, near Temple Meads, and buildings in Sunderland Place.

The markings are based around a two-legged diamond shape.

This is an Odal Rune symbol used by the Waffen SS in Nazi Germany, and is a longestablished Nazi, neo-Nazi and white supremacist symbol.

The symbol then has a window and chimney added, with the letters ‘h’, ‘m’ and ‘e’ to appear to spell the word ‘home’.

“What it is saying is this should be a ‘home’ for white people,” said the concerned resident.

“To be fair, 99 per cent of people wouldn’t know what any of those symbols mean,” he said.

“I only know because of my history with the punk and tattoo scene; we learn how to spot these people.”

North Bristol Inspector Lorna Dallimore said: “I can confirm that we are investigating recent reports of graffiti containing a hate crime symbol on Whiteladies Road in Clifton.

“I’d like to reassure the public that reports of this nature are taken extremely seriously.

“An initial report we received regarding the graffiti was misdirected in error and for this I offer my sincere apologies. Hate crime will not be tolerated by Avon and Somerset Police.

“Enquiries are ongoing, including local house to house enquiries and a review of available CCTV footage.

“Anyone with information that could assist our investigation should contact police on 101. We’d also ask that any further sightings of similar graffiti are reported to us.”