Express & Star

Smethwick canal bridge defaced days after new revamp

Vandals have defaced one of the Black Country's most iconic canal bridges just days after it received a makeover as part of a £130,000 restoration project.

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Spray painters targeted Rotton Park Junction Bridge in Smethwick, laying graffiti on the Victorian-era structure.

This came after work was due to finish to restore the bridge which saw 200 -year-old brickwork repointed and scrubbed clean and old graffiti removed.

Lawrence Tall, from the Canal & River Trust, said: "This is so disappointing and really sad that after all our hard efforts to remove the old graffiti, new scribbles and tags have reappeared literally days after we cleaned it and made it look lovely.

"The graffiti really isn't the welcome to Birmingham that boaters and visitors want to see when out on the canal and I'm sure local people are equally as frustrated as we are that the bridges have yet again been vandalised.

"The bridges have been scrubbed clean, the brickwork repointed and the old graffiti removed. Sadly some local trouble-makers have seen the bridge as a blank canvas and decided to 'decorate' it with spray paint, defacing the 200-year-old brickwork and needlessly vandalising an important part of the area's heritage."

It is thought vandals targeted the bridge around the weekend of April 9 and 10.

It is one of three metal bridges, on the Icknield Port Loop, currently being repaired and cleaned by the charity Canal & River Trust.

The funds have come from donations from members of the public.

A large area of the restoration work saw the bridges' structures revamped, where brickwork was re pointed.

Hydraulic jacks will brought in to raise the bridges so engineers could remove the sturdy corner stones - which were then sent off to be re-manufactured.

They are also given a makeover where a new coat of black and white paint were given to the bridges whilst areas of dust and damage were repaired.

Previous graffiti had also been removed from the brickwork.

The Canal & River Trust guards 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales, caring for the nation's third largest collection of listed structures, as well as museums, archives, and hundreds of important wildlife sites.

If anyone has any information regarding the graffiti they are being asked to call the Canal & River Trust on 03030 404040.

For more information visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

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