The organisers of a Pride event say they won’t back down in the face of homophobic abuse after vandals set light to a banner promoting the event.

West Faversham Community Centre, which will host the market town’s annual Pride parade this weekend, has been subjected to attacks in recent weeks believed to be of anti-LGBT sentiment.

Graffiti with homophobic slurs was sprawled on the walls before the banner was burned five days later.

Louise Asekokhai, head of community operations at the centre, told KentOnline: “I'm not happy about the graffiti but it's an unfortunate thing that sometimes happens on public buildings and things.

“But then a few days later, we come into work and find that someone's set fire to the Pride flag.

“It's quite thick plastic stuff so they've clearly sprayed something like an aerosol on it and set fire to it that way.

“It feels like we've had two targeted attacks, and it has been a bit overwhelming.

“They both happened as we’re coming up to Pride. They both seemed to be against the event, so it does look a certain way to us.”

First held in 2018, Faversham Pride has been run by the community centre since its inception.

Many have come out in support of the event and its hosts following the mindless vandalism, with both the town and Swale Borough Council coming to the aid of the facility.

The graffiti has proved tough to remove, though many are giving it a go for free.

Community centres bosses have vowed to stand firm with hopes of seeing Faversham rally together to eradicate hate.

Ms Asekokhai said: “We're just trying to get on with it and being more determined to put on our Pride and have a good time.

“We're not too worried about the day because we have a lot of staff. We've got a lot of security and we've never had any problems before.

“We've done it for years, so this is the first time we've ever had any sort of negativity so we're just trying to get on with it and keep everyone going.

“Hopefully we’ll be busier than we would have been because people will hopefully stand by us.”

Faversham Town Council said it was “shocked, appalled and saddened” to hear about the events, adding: “Faversham Pride plays an important role in bringing our community together and the Town Council fully supports this event.

“As a council regardless of political allegiance, we are working with the organisers to ensure Faversham Pride thrives not only in 2024 but for many years to come.”

Police have been contacted for comment about the burning of the Pride flag on Wednesday, July 17.