Greenwich Council hosted a moving Holocaust Memorial Day service this morning after more "sickening" anti-Semitic and racist graffiti was found in the borough.

The service at Woolwich Town Hall marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, as well as the victims of subsequent genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur, and acts as a day of defiance in the face of anti-Semitism.

This comes hours after vandals painted swastikas and a Celtic cross (a symbol of white power) onto the Real Caribbean takeaway in Greenwich, and a short distance away in Charlton the word ‘Jews’ appeared overnight on Sunday on a Barclays bank.

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The first set of graffiti is believed to have appeared between Saturday night and Sunday morning. but this morning more offensive graffiti has now been found daubed on trees in the East Greenwich Pleasaunce public park.

Key community figures have been quick to condemn the “disgusting racism.”

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The council has already painted over the markings at the Barclays, and Greenwich Police say it is aware of it and has appealed for any information regarding who posted the anti-Semitic and racist graffiti.

The graffiti could be linked to today’s (January 27) Holocaust Memorial Day service, at which council leader Danny Thorpe remembered those murdered and torture under Nazi persecution and condemned recent incidents in the borough.

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Marking this year's theme of 'standing together,' today's special service saw readings, performances and contributions from pupils and local schools.

Performances included Cherry Orchard Primary School, and a memorial prayer led by Gerald Rose and Reverend Cantor David Rome from the Catford and Bromley Synagogue.

After the graffiti was shared on social media, Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matthew Pennycook said he was “absolutely sickened” by what happened, stating that “these crimes are a stark reminder of the rise in white supremacism and Jew hatred in our country.”

Danny Thorpe said he was “disgusted and appalled” by the incident and revealed the council had worked throughout the night to cover the graffiti.

In a statement he said: "“I am appalled to see Anti Semitic, racist graffiti appear in Blackheath overnight. It is shocking and will not be tolerated in our borough."

The Board of Deputies of British Jews thanked the council and its leader for their quick action removing the right anti-Semitic graffiti.

This morning, Mr Thorpe acknowledged that more anti-Semitic graffiti had been found and said the council are working very closely with the Met Police on it.

He said in a tweet: "Let's find this racist and ensure they face the full force of the law."

People across the world have been marking International Holocaust Memorial Day, with survivors returning to Auschwitz to lay wreaths to commemorate the 1.1 million people who died there during the Second World War.