A charity says it felt ‘real support’ from the local community after ‘racist graffiti’ appeared near its centre recently.
Kingsway Community Connections (KCC) previously stated that they were ‘deeply concerned’ after ‘anti-migrant’ statements, including ‘say no to Islam’ and ‘stop the boats’ appeared near its base in Knightswood last week. This has since been removed.
Following the incident, Lainy Bedingfield, managing director of KCC, praised the support from the community as well as the response from Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
At a meeting of the Garscadden/Scotstounhill Area Partnership on September 2, she commented: “The face-to-face response from organisations has been remarkable. Community police have been in, and a real support has been felt in the community.
“The response online has not really been nice at all. Thank you to the councillors, the MP, and the MSP who I contacted.
“Within two hours, I had a response from everyone, and things were moved really quickly. It was actually a 9-year-old child who came in and told us about the graffiti.
“We have made sure that the people who we work with have been spoken to and made aware that they are not alone.
“This is what our community is, despite what is being said online. There was stuff online saying, ‘let’s get it back up’.
“We are very hopeful that we won’t see that.”
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Following the incident, which is said to have occurred between August 27 and 28, officers carried out visits at a mosque in the area.
Inspector Siobhan Paterson told the meeting that police had not been made aware of any other similar incidents.
Councillor Bill Butler asked whether or not the incident had been captured on CCTV.
Inspector Paterson replied: “Enquiries are still ongoing. Some areas are overlooked by the cameras.
"We have to make sure that we have got the right person. We don’t have anyone we can positively or negatively identify, but if we do get somebody charged, I am happy to update members.”
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Councillor Butler added: “My thanks to the police for their quick response and Kingsway Community Connections for alerting us to the fact that the graffiti had appeared.
“Also, the council, as it was cleared off very quickly. Although it would have been much better if it had never been there before.
“We have a diverse community, and we are concerned with making sure people feel a sense of being welcomed and not opposed or under threat.
“If people do happen to see anyone dobbing this graffiti, they should report it to police.”
An investigation into the graffiti remains ongoing.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, we received a report of offensive graffiti at Kingsway Court and Anniesland Road, Glasgow.
“Enquiries are ongoing and the relevant agencies have been advised.”
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