Barclays bank branch taped off by police after being smashed up and daubed in red paint
03.06.2024 - 10:43
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A Greater Manchester Barclays branch has been taped off by police after its windows have been smashed and walls daubed with red paint.
A police cordon and investigation apparel, including numbered signs, surround the Bolton bank branch this morning (June 3). Greater Manchester Police say officers were called at around 2.54am this morning, following reports of criminal damage and red graffiti on the Market Street building.
The high street bank has become a repeat target for pro-Palestine protesters, including store fronts in central London, Brighton and other parts of Greater Manchester. The scenes in Bolton come just a few days after two Manchester city centre branches were covered in paint overnight. Campaign group Palestine Action claimed responsibility after the Barclays branches on Market Street and Mosley Street, and a BNY Mellow office in Piccadilly Gardens, in were vandalised.
READ MORE: Cops storm south Manchester house as four arrested after Barclays banks trashed
In a post on X claiming responsibility over the weekend, Palestine Action wrote: "Palestine Action targeted three sites in Manchester overnight, hitting two Barclays branches and BNY Mellon. Both banks invest in Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems."
Four people, aged between 20 and 37, were arrested in a late night raid of a property on Wilbraham Road in Chorlton May 31. The four people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage offences.
Those Manchester branches also saw their glass windows smashed and red paint thrown over the buildings - however it has not yet been confirmed if the Manchester and Bolton incidents are linked.
In a statement, Barclays indicated that it believes the Bolton incident is related to the ongoing