A memorial to Aids victims was vandalised during the Pride weekend.

Residents in New Steine Gardens awoke yesterday to find the statue had been dressed in clothing and had a banana strapped to it.

The vandalism is believed to have taken place some time on Sunday night.

Paul Elgood , chairman of the Rainbow Foundation which manages the statue, said local residents were “horrified”.

He said: “This is a very special place of remembrance for people that lost friends and family to Aids.

“We were disgusted to see that someone had desecrated the memorial. This is hallowed ground and what these people did was disgraceful.”

Billy Lewis, from the city’s LGBT Community Safety Forum, said he hoped Police would find and arrest the vandals.

He said: “This is a very clear incident of hate crime and we want these people brought to justice.”