NORTH Lanarkshire Trade Union Council has condemned a second attack on a monument commemorating the international brigades in Motherwell.   

Last weekend marked the 85th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War, and those seeking to mark the occasion on Sunday found the monument had been damaged for a second time in three weeks. 

In June, fascist vandals spray-painted and covered the memorial in pro-Franco symbols, which were removed and cleaned by a father-and-son team. 

But on Sunday it was found that fascists had taken a chisel to the memorial in an attempt to break the symbol of the International Brigades. 

In a statement, the trades union council said: “These shameful acts of cowardice show that fascism has been growing again in our county. 

“We call on people of North Lanarkshire to not let fascism take hold, it is a poisonous rhetoric and vision which will strangle all that is good in our country.”