A businessman from London has launched a charity appeal after extremists left a pig’s head with a star of David carved on it at a Lithuanian synagogue.

Moshe Katz, who runs an IT company in Wimbledon, is hoping to raise enough money for CCTV equipment to guard against future attacks.

The head, left under a black Hasidic hat and with peyot (sidelocks) attached, was discovered outside the building in the city of Kaunas last Shabbat. Lithuanian Jewish leaders said they believed it was the work of a neo-Nazi organisation.

Mr Katz, whose father escaped from Lithuania to Israel before the Holocaust, visited the city of Kaunas two months ago and was alerted to the attack by members of the community soon after it happened.

He said: “It’s absolutely shocking. I asked how I could help and they told me they didn’t have any security equipment.

“At least if they had a camera this wouldn’t be able to happen again.”

To donate to the fund email mkatz@aztov.com or contact Mr Katz on 07831445999