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Churches and Police launch battle on graffiti
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| Peter and Carol Preston, members from the Ipswich Road URC, removing graffiti on Welsford Road. |
It is the scourge of many a community, but church members and police joined forces to clean up graffiti in one part of Norwich.
Officers from the University and Eaton Safer Neighbourhood Team joined members of the United Reformed Church in Ipswich Road to help clean up the graffiti on cable boxes and benches around the area.
The volunteers took their paint brushes and covered up graffiti in the area stretching from Ipswich Road onto Mount Pleasant and Queens Road.
In total nearly 20 hotspots were identified and cleaned up during Saturday's crackdown.
The initiative came about after a Safer Neighbourhood team meeting earlier this year in which targeting the graffiti in the university ward was made a top priority, alongside tackling anti-social behaviour in The Avenues and Colman Road area and addressing violent crime in the Bluebell Road area.
 Sgt Gerry Hanley, part of the safer Neighbourhood Team, who helped with the graffiti cleaning, said: “Residents told us this is what they wanted to see happening in the area so we have made moves to make sure we cover a wide area where the graffiti is a particular problem.”
Now it is hoped people will “adopt a box” which is near to or outside their homes, and help keep them clean if vandals daub paint on them again.
Carol Preston, a member of the United Reformed Church, said: “We will be keeping tins of the paint at the church, so if anyone sees there is writing on their box they can contact us and we will let them have the paint to cover it up.
“This all ties in with the Hope 08 campaign the church is running, aimed at improving the quality of life in the area, so we would urge people to get involved and help keep their neighbourhoods clean.”
Story and picture courtesy of www.eveningnews24.co.uk
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