Bradford City condemn vandals who defaced Valley Parade Fire Disaster memorial

The statue, situated by City Hall in Centenary Square, Bradford, which remembers the 56 victims of the 1985 tragedy was desecrated by vandals last week.

The club’s chief executive officer, Ryan Sparks, said: “We are disgusted and deeply saddened to see the damage done to the memorial in City Park.

“The memorial means so much for so many people, and is close to our football club’s heart. We hope action is taken against those responsible.

“We will offer our support to the local authorities in terms of rectifying the memorial, and certainly hope this will be possible ahead of the 37th anniversary of the disaster next week.

“We ask anyone with any information to come forward and help West Yorkshire Police bring the culprit(s) to justice for this disgraceful act.”

Next week, Bradford City will hold a memorial service on Wednesday May 11, marking the 37th anniversary of the Valley Parade Fire Disaster.

Taking place in Centenary Square, Bradford, by the Bradford City Fire Memorial, the service will be the first in person since 2019 after the last two events were held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Beginning at 11am, the service will be attended by relatives and friends of the 56 people who lost their lives in 1985, as well as club and council officials and members of the public.

Bradford has urged anyone who may have knowledge of the defacement of the memorial to contact the police on 101 - or use the live chat facility at westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus.