Mindless vandals spray offensive graffiti all over ancient Llansteffan Castle — and police want to know who did it

Someone decided to take a can of blue spray paint to one of west Wales’s most iconic castles. Now Dyfed-Powys Police want to know who.

Officers from the Rural Crime Team are investigating after offensive graffiti was discovered daubed across the walls of the North Tower and East Bastion at Castell Llansteffan — believed to have been sprayed at some point between 1 and 10 May.

The damage includes offensive language sprayed directly onto the ancient stonework that has stood on its hilltop overlooking the Tywi estuary for the best part of nine centuries. The pictures speak for themselves.

Llansteffan Castle is a Grade I listed monument in the care of Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service. It dates to the Norman period — the first fortifications were built in the 12th century — and the distinctive stone walls of the North Tower and East Bastion are among the most recognisable elements of the structure.

For generations of local families and visitors from across the world, the castle has been a place to walk, explore and connect with the remarkable history of this stretch of Carmarthenshire coastline. The idea that someone thought it was an appropriate place to scrawl abuse will strike most people as beyond comprehension.

What makes it worse is that heritage crime — as this kind of damage is classified — is not a minor offence. Dyfed-Powys Police describe it as any unlawful activity which harms historic assets, and say it is treated with the same seriousness as criminal damage anywhere else.

The spray paint could cause lasting damage to the medieval stonework. Removing graffiti from ancient masonry is a painstaking, expensive and sometimes impossible process — specialist conservators are often needed, and heavy-handed removal can cause more damage than the graffiti itself.

Cadw and local conservation groups have invested significantly in maintaining sites like Llansteffan in recent years. The castle attracts thousands of visitors annually and is one of the highlights of the Carmarthenshire coast for walkers doing the Wales Coast Path.

Heritage crime is on the rise across Wales. Historic buildings, ancient monuments, listed walls and scheduled sites have all been targeted in recent years — and authorities are increasingly treating attacks on irreplaceable historic assets as a priority area of enforcement.

Vandalism at Neath Abbey prompted a similar plea from authorities, who urged the public to help protect historic sites from those who have no regard for their significance.

Dyfed-Powys Police have not released information about suspects and are appealing to anyone who saw anything at the site between 1 and 10 May to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to report it online to Dyfed-Powys Police quoting reference number 26000373428, or by calling 101. If a heritage crime is happening now, call 999.