The iconic Sir Walter Scott monument in Perth has been defaced by graffiti.
The statue, located at the entrance to the South Inch, was completed in 1845 by sculptor firm John Cochrane and Brothers.
It is dedicated to historian and poet Sir Walter Scott – author of The Fair Maid in Perth published in 1828.
The C-listed monument has been tackled by chalk spelling out the words ‘R U The Farmer’.
A local resident discovered the graffiti on Sunday evening.
He said: “The Perth Show was of course on this weekend, so it appears to be related in some way to that.
“I can’t see any official involvement with the show defacing a monument like that, so some sort of protest perhaps?”
Graffiti on Sir Walter Scott statue
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “Graffiti adversely affects a community’s environment and can potentially lead to concerns about crime and other anti-social behaviours.
“We respond accordingly to any reports of graffiti we receive and will arrange for clean-ups where the graffiti is on for example public buildings, schools and road signs.”
Councillor Andrew Parrott deemed the vandalism as “disappointing”.
He said: “It is always very sad and disappointing when irresponsible people carry out this sort of vandalism.
“It appears that the writing has been done with chalk so hopefully it can be removed fairly easily and without damage to the statue.
“Sadly, I suspect that it will not be possible to trace who was responsible and hold them to account.
“It is always a minority who act in this anti-social way against the interests of the majority.”
Councillor Peter Barrett said: “Are you the farmer? It might be taken from the infamous scene from ‘Withnail and I’ which maybe someone thought was funny during the Perth Show?
“However it is really another sad example of vandalism to the Walter Scott monument which is still missing his faithful companion Maida.
“Maida was Scott’s dog which was broken off some time years despite being fixed with metal pins last time.
“I have contacted the Council’s community justice unpaid work team to ask if they can remove the graffiti as soon as possible.”
A police investigation took place in 2020 after Sir Walter Scott’s dog disappeared from the statue.
The faithful hound, named Maida, is thought to have been removed from the sculpture before lockdown.
Conversation