Lack of respect

From the archive, first published Thursday 17th Jan 2002.

Harvey's Cross, on the Downs, near Saltdean, is a fine monument to a colonel believed to have died there in a fall from his horse.

It is well-loved by horse-riders, cyclists and walkers who welcome seeing it at this remote hilltop site. It was restored less than three years ago.

Yet vandals have just caused damage estimated at thousands of pounds to the monument in a pointless attack.

Vandalism in towns and cities is hard enough to understand but is sometimes committed on the spur of the moment.

Someone must have made a deliberate effort to walk on to the Downs armed with a hammer or a similar instrument to damage the monument.

Several other crosses and memorials on the Downs have been wrecked in similar attacks in recent years.

If any ramblers have any information about this attack, they should report it to the police in the hope these vandals can be caught and further attacks prevented.

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