A man and a youth have been arrested after a plaque commemorating Holocaust victims was vandalised in Guernsey.

The Jewish Women’s Memorial, which pays tribute to three women who were deported from the island in 1942 and gassed in Auschwitz, was torn from a wall and found discarded nearby.

A Guernsey police spokesperson confirmed that an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old youth had been questioned.

“They were arrested, interviewed and released on police bail pending further enquiries,” he said.

The plaque, which has been in place for 12 years in the White Rock area of the island, reads: “To the memory of Marianne Grunfeld, Auguste Spitz, Therese Steiner, Jewish residents of Guernsey deported to France by the German occupying forces on 21 April 1942. They later died at Auschwitz-Birkenau.”

The women are believed to be the only Jews deported from UK territory during the war.

Dalia Cramer, co-chair of United Synagogue Women, said: “We were shocked and saddened to hear about this act of vandalism. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be caught and taught about what happened to the three women, and that the memorial will be restored to once again honour them.”