A member of Preston’s Jewish community says it was like receiving a “thump in the chest” when she saw Nazi graffiti had been scrawled on the fencing surrounding the site of the Radio 2 In The Park event in Preston.

Lancashire Police has launched a hate crime investigation after Savannah Dable spotted a series of images on the hoardings erected around Moor Park ahead of this weekend’s BBC show.

They included a thinly disguised swastika close to a Star of David, and a sketch of Adolf Hitler committing a lewd act.

Savannah says it was particularly chilling to see the offensive drawings at the place where an outdoor music festival is to be staged, given that the Hamas attack on October 7 – in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage – targeted just such an event.

She said: “This sort of graffiti has been normalised. Whoever has done it – whether it’s a youth or an adult – it’s in their mind.

“When I saw those things on the fence of a music festival in Preston, I made the connection with the Nova Festival [the site of the Hamas attack] – and that’s what really struck me.

“The way they did the swastika, it was like they tried to draw flowers…to conceal it. But it looks very much like a swastika."

Preston City Council was made aware of the imagery and arranged for it to be removed.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “We received a report of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage after antisemitic graffiti was found on metal fencing at Moor Park, Preston.

“Officers are investigating and it is being treated as a hate crime.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact 101, [quoting] log 932 of September 2.”