MARCH 28: ANTI-WAR protesters have defaced one of Wiltshire's famous landmarks.

Westbury residents woke up on Saturday morning to find that an anti-war slogan had been scrawled on the White Horse.

The words stop this war had been sprayed on the monument using black, yellow and blue paint.

Town councillor Marion Clegg was disgusted.

She said: "It is sad. The horse will be here for a long time, hopefully the war will not.

"It is going to be difficult to remove it and expensive too.

"If it had been done before the war I may have felt differently.

"If I thought it would stop the war I would be all for it, but it is just a nuisance."

English Heritage will now have to pay for the restoration work.

A spokesman for the conservation group said there were no plans to fence off the site to protect it but they would work closely with Wiltshire police to prevent further attacks.