Express & Star

Wolverhampton councillors urge authorities to crackdown on graffiti

Wolverhampton councillors in Finchfield and Castlecroft are calling for the police to take action, after a spate of graffiti incidents in the area.

Published
Councillor Ellis Turrell with some of the graffiti

Graffiti tags have been sprayed on telecoms infrastructure, bins and bus shelters on several roads in the area, as well as the wall of The Westacres pub in Finchfield and in the Smestow Valley Nature Reserve.

The tags are feared to be a sign of gang activity in the area.

Now Tettenhall Wightwick councillor Ellis Turrell, together with his ward colleagues Wendy Thompson and Jonathan Crofts, has urged local police officers and Wolverhampton Council to step in and remove the graffiti, as well as attempt to identify the culprits.

He is also asking anybody who may know who the graffiti tags are associated with to contact the police on 101.

Councillor Turrell said: “Unfortunately we have seen a spate of graffiti incidences in the Finchfield and Castlecroft areas, mainly on telecoms boxes and bus shelters but also, sadly, on the old Compton Halt platform in the Smestow Valley Nature Reserve.

"I have spoken to council staff and also raised it with the local neighbourhood police, who should be working to identify who the graffiti tags belong to. This may be a low-level crime, but it is time that the authorities cracked down on it.

“It is detrimental to the local area, and ultimately the taxpayer foots the bill for cleaning it up. So if anybody has any information about who these graffiti tags are linked to, or if they see anybody spraying graffiti, I would encourage them to contact the police on 101."