A COMMUNITY has rallied round after the outside of an historic pub in a Cornish seaside village was splattered with white paint.

The 400-year-old Ship Inn in the centre of Mevagissey was targeted in the attack.

Landlords Aleks and Noah Earl, who took over the pub earlier this year, were dismayed to see the damage.

Posting on social media, they said: “This morning (September 2) we woke up to something absolutely heartbreaking — the Ship Inn, including our windows and frontage, had been covered in paint.

“It was devastating to see the pub that we, our amazing team and so many people in this village have put so much hard work, love and energy into treated like this. But what happened afterwards reminded us exactly why we love being part of Mevagissey.

“We cannot thank every single person from the village enough who came out, in the pouring rain, to help us clean up, support us and pull everything back together. People turned up without being asked and simply got stuck in. That kindness and community spirit means more to us than we can put into words.

“We are working closely with the police and St Austell Brewery to establish exactly what happened and identify those responsible. For now, we simply want to say thank you. Thank you for the messages, the encouragement, the offers of help and for standing behind us. Something intended to upset us has instead shown us just how much support there is around the Ship Inn.

“We won’t let this bring us down. We’ll clean it up, keep moving forward and continue making the Ship a place that Mevagissey can be proud of.”

Reacting to the post, one person said: “Well done everyone involved, for coming together, for helping restore it to its former glory… you are all amazing!”