Police make five arrests after Barclays Burnley vandalised

Police said two men and three women have been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a building and are currently in custody.

Officers were called at around 2.10am today (August 5) to reports of criminal damage at the Barclays bank in St James' Street, Burnley.

They found windows at the bank had been smashed and red paint sprayed over the building.

Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the vandalism (Image: Neil Terry)

Around five minutes later, at 2.15am, a car was stopped in Huffling Lane, Burnley, at which point the arrests were made.

Protest group Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for the damage.

A spokesperson for the group said: "Palestine Action will continue to make investing in Israel's biggest weapons producer an unattractive investment.

"As Barclays reduce Palestinian lives to profits on their balance sheet, it's important they understand the cost associated with funding genocide."

According to Palestine Action, targeted action will continue until Barclays stops "investing" in certain companies.

The windows were smashed while red paint was splattered across the front (Image: Neil Terry)

The group said its protest is over Barclays' "investment" in Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit.

A Barclays statement on the issue said it was not true it has invested in the company.

A spokesperson said: "We may hold shares in relation to client-driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors.

“Barclays also has policies on a range of issues including climate change, human rights and the defence and security sector."

A message on the bank's website says the branch is "temporarily closed due to vandalism."

In June, around 20 branches in other towns and cities were targeted in a similar manner by the group, with windows put through and red paint sprayed across shopfronts.