BRADFORD City AFC has strongly condemned the defacement of the Valley Parade fire memorial in Centenary Square.

The statue, by City Hall in remembrance of the 56 victims of the tragedy, was desecrated by vandals last week.

The Bradford City Neighbourhood Policing Team is investigating the incident and combing through CCTV footage in an attempt to identify the person or people responsible.

Ryan Sparks, the club’s chief executive officer, said: “We are disgusted and deeply saddened to see the damage done to the memorial in City Park.

“The memorial means so much for so many people, and is close to our football club’s heart. We hope action is taken against those responsible.

“We will offer our support to the local authorities in terms of rectifying the memorial, and certainly hope this will be possible ahead of the 37th anniversary of the disaster next week.

“We ask anyone with any information to come forward and help West Yorkshire Police bring the culprit(s) to justice for this disgraceful act.

"Bradford City AFC would like to urge anyone who may have knowledge of these events to contact the police on 101 - or use the live chat facility at westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus."