AKIPRESS.COM - A controversial church bell in Schweringen, northern Germany, has had a swastika inscription removed as part of an unauthorised "spring cleaning", BBC reported.

The unknown perpetrators left a note on the door confessing to defacing it, saying they wanted to clean the bell of "the filth of the National Socialists".

The note said they aimed to prevent a town "split" after a heated debate.

The local parish council had recently decided the bell should still be used, after temporarily suspending its use.

The presence of remnants of the Nazi era, such as bells, continues to cause controversy in Germany.