A statue of James Cook, the captain of the first Western ship to reach the east coast of Australia, has been sprayed with red paint and damaged two days before the country’s national day.

It is the second time that the statue in Sydney has been defaced and vandalised in the last year. Police said that they had begun an investigation and that several items had been found near the statue.

Carolyn Martin, a local councillor, said the vandals may have scaled a fence around the statue using a ladder, which they left behind.

Ms Martin told radio station 2GB: “It’s an absolute mess. They have splattered paint all over it, then they have managed to get to the top of the statue and they’ve knocked his hand off and also part of his face and nose.”