River bank clean-up demanded

5.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 7th Aug 2007

Cllr Furse has called for the Council to remove this unsightly graffiti

Local Councillor Andrew Furse has called for action from the Council to clean up the graffiti along a section of the riverside in Kingsmead ward.

Cllr Furse (Liberal Democrat, Kingsmead) said:

"I walk along the stretch of river between Destructor Bridge and Sainsbury's most days and I've been keeping an eye on the amount of graffiti. It is definitely getting worse. Graffiti is not only unsightly, but in many cases damages the surface it is sprayed on. I asked the Council to address this over a month ago and nothing has been done to have it washed off.

"However, a clean up operation won't solve the problem. I have already contacted the police requesting that they should be more pro-active in tackling occurrences of graffiti, and I believe Magistrates also need to send out a clear message that this type of vandalism will not be tolerated.

"If the Council was to provide a dedicated area with graffiti walls - allowing those who are interested in graffiti as an 'art' form to practice in a controlled way - then there would be no excuse for graffiti elsewhere and consequently magistrates would be justified in giving vandals stronger penalties such as community service."