Blackpool rainbow zebra crossing vandalised with spray paint in Dickson Road

One of Blackpool's new rainbow zebra crossings - celebrating the resort's LGBTQ+ community - has been vandalised with spray paint.

The colourful crossing in Dickson Road, near the junction with Banks Street, was defaced with black paint at around 9pm last night - just a day after it was unveiled.

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A number of zebra crossings are being given multi-coloured makeovers as the resort develops a ‘Be Who You Want To Be’ area in the town centre.

The colours in the crossings are those of the Progress Pride flag, which celebrates inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community.

Blackpool Council said the vandalism has been reported to Lancashire Police and a CCTV investigation is under way.

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council said: “We were disgusted and saddened to find that the new multi-coloured crossings have already been defaced.

“Inclusion and diversity is a key priority for the council. This sort of behaviour has no place in Blackpool and will not be tolerated.

"Rest assured we are accessing the CCTV in the area and we have reported it to the police.

“The ‘Be Who You Want To Be’ project is a community led project initiated by the community in and around the Claremont area and is supported by Blackpool Council.

“The rainbow crossings are a small part of this project and were laid down after many discussions and engagement with the community.

"Those discussions told us that people want the area to look and feel better, brighter and want to start to build a sense of identity. This is now a key theme within the action plan.

“This senseless and mindless act will not deter us and we will continue with delivering the action plan and support all those that want to be involved with it - I hope that is as many people in Blackpool as possible.

“The crossings will be cleaned and we will continue to move forward to support the residents with their plans.”

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Contractors Uniplay worked through the night on Tuesday to bring the new thermoplastic graphics to life, brightening up the area in a show of solidarity for a long established LGBTQ+ community and history in the area.

The junction of Dickson Road and Springfield Road will also see a vibrant makeover, with rainbow crossings due to be installed on the road at the four-way junction last night.

The vandalism came after one town leader said there had been "some negativity" on social media in response to the upgrade.

"I just can't get my head around it," said Blackpool Council's Jane Hugo.

The environment cabinet member said it was "sad and disappointing" that the crossing had been defaced, but stressed there had been more positive responses to the rainbow designs than negative ones.

"It's really sad that in this day and age people are having such negative feelings about it and then to physically go out and spray over the zebra crossing," she said.

"This is something that we sought funding for to create a really safe, accepting area, so that when people come to Blackpool they know they can be safe."