Headstones at Blackley Jewish Cemetery destroyed
Headstones at a Jewish cemetery have been destroyed in a "deliberate and targeted attack", police have said.
Officers discovered 14 headstones had been knocked over and broken at Blackley Jewish Cemetery in Rochdale Road, Manchester, at about 15:45 BST on Wednesday. Police are treating the incident as a hate crime. Ch Supt Wasim Chaudhry said: "This is a sickening act of criminal damage which we are taking very seriously. "There is no place for such abhorrent behaviour in our communities." Greater Manchester mayor and police and crime commissioner Tony Lloyd described the desecration as a "disgusting act of vandalism" which would "cause anguish, fear and anger among our communities". He added it "could lead to serious divisions within our neighbourhoods".