Graffiti
Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on the surface of any property and it 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.
Graffiti Removal
Graffiti removal is the responsibility of property owner. If your property has been defaced with graffiti, then depending on the nature and severity of the graffiti, you should report this to the police as an incident of criminal damage or anti-social behaviour. The police often 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 in removing the graffiti, then you should contact your insurer, as this may be covered by the relevant insurance for your property.
The only graffiti that the council is responsible for clearing is on its own property.
The council encourages property owners to remove graffiti, however if the defacement is offensive, the Councils are happy to work with the owners to remove the defacement as quickly as possible. Many of the parish council's in the district hold graffiti removal kits which are available for use by residents. Please contact your local parish council for more information.
Reporting Graffiti
In the first instance, graffiti should be reported to the property owner. If the graffiti is on council owned property, then please report it to the department responsible for that property such as:
Where graffiti is visible in a public place, and is detrimental to the amenity of the area or offensive, please report this to the council's Environmental Protection team:
Report a graffiti