British Heart Foundation “shocked and saddened” after shop was attacked on Monday and again on Wednesday, reports James Cracknell

The vandalised shop front of British Heart Foundation in Enfield Town — The vandalised shop front

An Enfield Town charity shop’s window display celebrating Pride has been vandalised by homophobes twice in three days.

The British Heart Foundation shop in Church Street is displaying a Pride flag and the word ‘Pride’ in rainbow colours but shop volunteers arrived on Monday (26th) to find someone had spray-painted over these parts of their front window.

After cleaning the spray paint off on Monday and reporting the incident to police, more vandalism occurred this morning (Wednesday 28th) – this time with an offensive, homophobic message added alongside.

Richard Roe, regional director at British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “We are shocked and saddened that our BHF shop in Enfield was targeted by vandalism. Incidents like this are not only upsetting for our dedicated colleagues, volunteers and customers, but they can also impact our ability to help fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.

“We have reported this incident to the police and are now in the process of repairing the damage caused. The shop remains open for business and we would like to thank those in the community that have shown their support since this incident.

“As an inclusive organisation where we encourage everyone to bring their true self to work, the BHF is proud to support Pride, including in our shop window displays. Around 7.6 million people in the UK are living with heart and circulatory diseases, and these conditions do not discriminate. It is important that the BHF is there to support everyone affected.”

The vandalised British Heart Foundation shop — A homophobic message was scrawled across the shop

Update (28th June):

A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called shortly after 7am on Wednesday, 28th June to reports of criminal damage at a shop in Church Street, Enfield.

“No arrests; enquiries into the circumstances continue.

“Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD1413/28Jun.

“Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.