Mingenew’s shire president has praised local police for their proactive approach to tackling crime following vandalism to the town’s cenotaph ahead of Anzac Day.

Before the Anzac Day service on Saturday, the shire reported vandalism on its cenotaph, which was in the process of being upgraded for the occasion.

Over the weekend before the dawn service, the shire said there had been two occasions when the memorial had been the target of a crime.

The cenotaph was being upgraded with new lighting and flag poles — which the shire revealed had been deliberately tampered with.

In a Facebook post, the shire said cables for the new lighting had been “pulled out and tampered with, with attempts made to cut them”.

“This is extremely disappointing, with the project so close to completion and our works team putting in a huge effort to have everything ready for this weekend,” the shire said.

“The cenotaph is an important place for our community, particularly ahead of upcoming commemorations, and it’s disheartening to see damage like this.”

Despite the damage done to the cenotaph, Mingenew shire president Hellene McTaggart said the cenotaph was completed, ready to go, and looked beautiful for the Anzac Day commemorations.

She also praised the work of local Mingenew police and the hard work they did for the community.

“We are really pleased with our police we have here in town. We are really grateful that we now have two new police, headed by Sgt Paul Featherston, who does excellent community policing,” she said.

“Although the vandalism at the cenotaph is really disappointing, and unfortunately we’re not aware if they’ve got any further in their investigations, they were very quick to get on to it.”

Ms McTaggart said community police were always under a significant amount of pressure and deserved recognition and gratitude.

“I’m certainly very grateful for having two policemen based in town because it really makes a massive difference,” she said.