“Whoever it was isn’t going to silence us”: Pride in Luton defiant as vandals rip down banner

The incident happened on Wednesday (June 12) in New Bedford Road between 4pm and 6pm, which left cable ties hanging bare on the railings.

A Pride in Luton spokesperson said: “Whoever it was isn’t going to silence us, it’s not gonna stop us, won’t make us change our ways. Pride will still go ahead and will be a huge success.”

In July, thousands of people are expected to flock to Luton to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, in the third event of its kind in the town.

This is not the first time that the event has been targeted by vandals. The spokesperson said: “The previous year, we had an issue in the same spot where our banner was damaged. This year we double cable tied it in place, so it took some real force to to rip it off to the extent that it’d left the rings attached to the cable ties and ripped all the fabric.”

Bedfordshire Police said: “We understand the impact incidents like these have on the LGBTQ+ community, especially during Pride Month. There is no place for hate or discrimination of any kind in our county. We would always encourage people to report instances of hate crime, and want to assure our communities that reports of this nature are taken seriously and will be thoroughly investigated.”

Anyone with any information or concerns is asked to call police on 101 or tell us online, quoting reference 40/32324/24