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Statue of black poet Alfred Fagon feared attacked with bleach in Bristol Statue of black poet Alfred Fagon feared attacked with bleach in Bristol
(about 4 hours later)
Police investigate after bust of Jamaican-born actor defaced with corrosive substancePolice investigate after bust of Jamaican-born actor defaced with corrosive substance
Police in Bristol are investigating an apparent attack on the statue of a black playwright, poet and actor in which a suspected corrosive substance was poured over it.Police in Bristol are investigating an apparent attack on the statue of a black playwright, poet and actor in which a suspected corrosive substance was poured over it.
Some residents fear that bleach may have been used to attack the statue of Jamaican-born Alfred Fagon in the St Paul’s area of the city.Some residents fear that bleach may have been used to attack the statue of Jamaican-born Alfred Fagon in the St Paul’s area of the city.
The incident was reported to the police shortly after the city council retrieved the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston from the harbour in Bristol where it was dumped by Black Lives Matter protesters on Sunday.The incident was reported to the police shortly after the city council retrieved the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston from the harbour in Bristol where it was dumped by Black Lives Matter protesters on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said it was not clear what had happened to the bust and appealed for witnesses.A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said it was not clear what had happened to the bust and appealed for witnesses.
The spokesperson said: “Police were made aware today, Thursday 11 June, of an incident involving the statue of Alfred Fagon in St Paul’s. The incident seems to have left the statue covered with an unknown substance.The spokesperson said: “Police were made aware today, Thursday 11 June, of an incident involving the statue of Alfred Fagon in St Paul’s. The incident seems to have left the statue covered with an unknown substance.
“It’s not clear when it happened but officers are recording the incident and making enquiries with Bristol city council to clarify ownership and establish whether the statue has suffered permanent damage.”“It’s not clear when it happened but officers are recording the incident and making enquiries with Bristol city council to clarify ownership and establish whether the statue has suffered permanent damage.”
Bristol radio presenter and DJ Docta Flex said he believed the statue had been violated. “This is criminal damage,” he said.Bristol radio presenter and DJ Docta Flex said he believed the statue had been violated. “This is criminal damage,” he said.
The St Paul’s poet and community activist Lawrence Hoo said: “Someone came and bleached him. Everything didn’t get made better a couple of days ago, and just to show that in this climate, someone still felt to come down and try and deface the one statue we’ve got from one person from the community of culture that had been recognised enough to be adorned on a plinth.”The St Paul’s poet and community activist Lawrence Hoo said: “Someone came and bleached him. Everything didn’t get made better a couple of days ago, and just to show that in this climate, someone still felt to come down and try and deface the one statue we’ve got from one person from the community of culture that had been recognised enough to be adorned on a plinth.”
Fagon,a member of the Windrush generation, arrived in England as a teenager in 1955. He worked for British Rail and served in the army before forging a career in the arts in Bristol and London Fagon, a member of the Windrush generation, arrived in England as a teenager in 1955. He worked for British Rail and served in the army before forging a career in the arts in Bristol and London
After he died in 1986, the bust on the corner of Ashley Road and Grosvenor Road was commissioned by a committee chaired by Paul Stephenson, the civil rights activist who led the Bristol bus boycott in 1963.After he died in 1986, the bust on the corner of Ashley Road and Grosvenor Road was commissioned by a committee chaired by Paul Stephenson, the civil rights activist who led the Bristol bus boycott in 1963.