HEARTLESS vandals have wrecked a shrine to a Huddersfield student.

But the grieving girlfriend of 23-year-old Tobiasz Minski has vowed she will never be beaten by the hooligans and will set it up again.

The memorial – which included a framed photograph of Tobiasz and an inscribed plaque – was set up by Rita Brychey on land close to Huddersfield Narrow Canal between Slaithwaite and Marsden.

His body was found in a wooded area off the towpath at that spot.

A woman had discovered that the picture had been smashed and the plaque torn off a tree.

She alerted police, who told Rita.

She went to the scene on Saturday and was shocked.

But she cleared it up and returned yesterday to lay more fresh flowers.

The 20-year-old said: “We are going to put it back up and if the same happens we will put it back up again and again.’’

Rita’s friend, Vicky Hirst, went with her.

She said: “We don’t know who has done this. It may be kids, but this is a shrine to Tobiasz that means a lot to his family, so we would appeal to people to leave it alone.

“Whoever has done this has shown no care for Rita and Tobiasz’s family. Why would anyone do such a thing?’’

The shrine is in a small wooded area between the canal and the River Colne.

The water runs down a small weir there and the sound of it cascading can be heard constantly.

It is about a mile from Slaithwaite on the towpath heading towards Marsden.

Rita and Tobiasz met three years ago in their home Polish town of Poznan. They came to Huddersfield so Tobiasz could study for a fine art degree and Rita could study media and TV production.

Rita intends to finish her second year of studies and then rethink her situation in the summer.

Both had part-time jobs behind the Mymou bar on Queen Street in Huddersfield town centre, which is owned by Vicky.

Tobiasz was reported missing by Rita when he failed to return from a night out at Huddersfield’s Camel Club on November 9.

She led attempts to find him, helped by Tobiasz’s 55-year-old mother, Hanna Minska, who put up a £5,000 reward for information.

She is now back home in Poland.

Tobiasz’s body was found in a shallow grave on December 18.

An inquest was opened in January, a week before his funeral at Huddersfield Crematorium.

Former soldier Daniel Sykes, 25, of Royd Street, Slaithwaite, has been charged with Tobiasz’s murder and has been remanded in custody.

He is expected to go on trial for murder at the end of June.