North Wales police are investigating the daubing of a war memorial in Rhyl with swastikas and messages of hate. 

Richard Kenrick, organiser of the local Poppy Appeal for the Royal British Legion, said the graffiti referred to Nazi Germany and the murder of Jews, the BBC reported. 

Most of it was written in German but one slogan in English, “Choke on chlorine, Tommy” appeared to refer the gassing of British soldiers in the First World War and another, “Yossarian lives” probably refers to Joseph Heller’s satirical novel on the Second World War, Catch 22. 

“I think it’s just disgusting,” said Mr Kenrick, who believed it was the work of an adult rather than the “mindless vandalism” of a child. 

The memorial on the seafront of the coastal town commemorates 300 local service men and women who died in wars since 1899. 

The town once had a Jewish community.