A man has been charged with wilful damage after a Woolworths store in Brisbane was tagged with pro-Australia Day graffiti.

The Woolworths Metro in Teneriffe was tagged with “5 days 26 Jan Oi Oi Woolies f*** u” on it’s exterior on Monday morning.

Police say that at about 5am, a 40-year-old man also set off a flare at the store, activating the fire alarm and prompting the temporary evacuation of nearby apartment residents. 

The flare was extinguished a short time later, and Woolworths confirmed no employees or customers were injured.

The attack came after the supermarket giant announced it would no longer stock Australia Day merchandise.

That prompted federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to urge a boycott of Woolworths, describing their merchandise decision as an “outrage”.

The arrested man has been charged with wilful damage and is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on February 21.