A statue of African American tennis legend Arthur Ashe on Richmond, Virginia’s Monument Avenue has been vandalised with the words “White Lives Matter”.

Photos show the base of the monument tagged with white spray paint and the words “white lives matter” as well as the initials “WLM”.

Those initials were then later painted over with “BLM”. Richmond police said they were alerted to the vandalism at 10.15am on Wednesday. Police say red paint on the statue itself was being cleaned by community members.

Police said they have information on possible suspects and are asking the community to call them if they have information on who is responsible for the vandalism. The Arthur Ashe monument was dedicated in 1996 to memorialise the Richmond native and counter-balance the string of statues dedicated to Confederate leaders.