Graffiti

Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on the surface of any property and is an act of vandalism which is a criminal offence under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, and carries a large fine or imprisonment on conviction. For minor incidents an £80 on the spot fixed penalty notice may be issued to offenders.

Graffiti removal

Graffiti removal on private property is the responsibility of the owner. If your property has been defaced with graffiti, then please report this to the police by telephoning 101 as an incident of criminal damage and/or anti-social behaviour. The police have extensive knowledge of local tags (signatures used by graffiti artists) to identify the culprits and will likely require a photograph of the graffiti before it is removed.

If you require financial assistance to remove the graffiti, then you should contact your insurer as this may be covered by your policy.

The only graffiti that the council is responsible for clearing is on its own property, however if the graffiti is offensive, the council will work with the owners to remove it as quickly as possible.

Reporting graffiti

In the first instance, graffiti should be reported to the property owner. If the graffiti is on council owned property, is of an offensive nature or is in a prominent public area then please let us know. Contact Customer Services and we will clean it as soon as it is possible.