WESTHOUGHTON residents who went for a walk in the park were shocked last week- after vile graffiti of a swastika and the word 'rape' were daubed on the path.

The word and symbol, which appeared to have been drawn in chalk, were spotted in Westhoughton's Central Park by shocked locals who had taken to the park for a leisurely walk.

The crudely drawn swastika was accompanied by the word 'rape'- which had been boldly written in capital letters twice, once on an access ramp and once across steps.

The swastika is commonly associated with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party of the early 20th century, where the symbol became synonymous with racism and hate.

A woman walking through the park, Stacey, spotted the graffiti and posted it online.

She said: "It wasn’t a nice thing to see, I know it’s only chalk but I’m just glad my baby is too young to ask what it meant. It’s not really a word or symbol you want to explain to a child.

"After I posted on my Westhoughton page a couple of people said they had seen it on their walks and their young children had asked them what it meant.

"I just wanted to post it in case someone was due to go on a walk so they could maybe avoid it with children so they didn’t have to see it."

It appears that the chalk may have now been removed, as neighbourhood services had said that they would make sure that it was cleared.

Other residents on Facebook added that the graffiti was now gone.

Martyn Cox, Deputy Leader for Bolton Council and Cllr for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, said: "These are very disturbing images to see in a public park and I’m glad they have been removed.

"Whoever did this should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves."