Graffiti has been reported in Spalding and Weston

A council leader and police say they take graffiti ‘very seriously’ after a surge of incidents in the area.

Political messages have been sprayed onto South Holland District Council’s offices in Spalding and the town’s skate park with a further message defacing the popular street artwork on the former Calthrops building, Market Place.

And it is not just the town which has been affected by this issue - with bus shelters in nearby Weston also being damaged.

Coun Nick Worth, district council leader, said “In relation to the graffiti that appeared on the council building over the weekend we can confirm that our team has acted swiftly, and the graffiti is currently being removed.

“In relation to all graffiti, we take the matter seriously and we will continue to work with partner agencies to assess any evidence to identify those responsible and take appropriate action. Our goal is to ensure that our town remains a welcoming and well-maintained environment for all residents and visitors.”

Earlier today (Monday), council workers were greeted by a collection of anti-Labour political phrases ,which were also spray painted onto the council office building, in Priory Road.

One of the messages can be seen at the entrance of the building while others are at the side – one of the statements reads, ‘Dear Kier Starma, lawyers don’t make leaders, they make dictators – wake up!’.

We have asked the council if there is CCTV footage of the incident.

Reports of graffiti tags have also been found at Spalding Skatepark on Holbeach Road, which had previously been given a new lease of life by street artists.

St Paul’s ward member, Rob Gibson, who had arranged for the artwork at the skatepark, said: “We worked really hard to get it done and I find it sad that we live in a day and age where people feel like they need to do that.

“It makes the area look untidy and not cared for. In a recent parish council meeting we were discussing that five out of six new bus shelters which were installed in Weston, have all been tagged.

“If they choose to replace them, it means the children of Weston will miss out on a new skate park and facilities, because the parish council is having to pay for these incidents.

“Some of the graffiti has messages behind it such as anti government, but the people doing the graffiti are costing us more money by doing it and consequently, taking money away from going into the area – it defeats their own objective in my opinion.

“As councillors we do try our best and we want our area to look nice. We don’t want visitors to come to South Holland and think it looks scruffy and unkept. We did not have as many graffiti incidents four or five years ago – there has definitely been a big increase.

“The art which Karl Barfoot created in the town looked nice and for someone to graffiti over it is just poor and sad. We are trying to make our town centre prettier and better, and we are thankful for people like Karl, who are able to do that – but the graffiti issue is just sad.”

A second message has defaced the artwork Karl Barfoot had created in the town centre in the run-up to Spalding Flower Parade. The first political message appeared in June.

But now the latest says: “There are no sides because there is no coin! Listen to everyone! We have no democracy! That’s why nothing ever changes. RBS!!

A spokesman for the police said: “This is something we take very seriously and we recognise the impact that such crimes have on the local community.

“We are working in partnership with South Holland District Council to identify the culprit and we would like to reassure residents that we are dealing with this robustly.”

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