The plaque remembers the hundreds of thousands who died as a result of persecution and has only been in place for a few months

A Holocaust memorial in Glasgow has been destroyed by mindless thugs.

The Romani Rose Tree Memorial was planted in Queens Park earlier this year by young Roma people from Govanhill, to remember the thousands of Roma people who were murdered during the Second World War.

However the local community has been left angered after the memorial was desecrated by sick vandals.

A plaque was ripped from its plinth from the memorial, which was created by Govanhill-based charity Romano Lav.

A statement from the organisation said it will not tolerate racism or intimidation and it plans to replace the plaque as soon as possible.

“We at Romano Lav are disgusted by this act of vandalism. We will not tolerate racism, intimidation, or intolerance directed towards our Roma communities, or indeed towards anyone else.

“Roma Genocide Memorial Day is about remembrance, but it is also about resistance. That this hateful act occurred at all underscores the need for this memorial. We will continue to honour the memory of those who lost their lives during the Holocaust, whilst fighting against the racism that marks our contemporary political moment, and that is a scourge on our society and communities.

“We will restore the Holocaust memorial to its original condition and we call upon all of our friends, neighbours, and allies – locally and internationally – to stand in solidarity with our Roma communities and to join us in resisting racism, today and every day.”

A spokeswoman for Stand Up To Racism said: “Stand Up To Racism is disgusted at this news.

“To desecrate the memory of the Roma and Gypsy people’s suffering in the Holocaust is an outrage that all Glasgwegians, bar the mindless perpetrators of this attack, will oppose.”

Historians estimate that between 220,000 and 500,000 Romani were killed by the Nazis.