Coronavirus: M25 graffiti replaced with NHS thank you

The bridge's message has been changed to say "Thank You NHS"

A message of support for the NHS has been painted on an M25 bridge known for its graffiti.

The railway bridge between junctions 16 and 17 in Buckinghamshire was for years daubed with "Give peas a chance" and was a landmark for many.

The message "Thank You NHS" has been painted on to it, likely in support of medics tackling the coronavirus crisis.

It is not clear who painted the latest message on the bridge, which is owned by Network Rail.

A Facebook group to celebrate the original graffiti has more than 9,000 followers.

The message was painted over and replaced with the word Helch in 2018, to the annoyance of its fans.

The graffiti was not thought to refer to the popular green legume

Marc P Summers, admin of the Facebook group, said: "This is the greatest thing to happen to the bridge since it was messed with by Helch over 18 months ago.

"We are super happy and wish this to stay forever.

"The NHS deserve this as recognition for all their hard work."

"Peas" was reportedly the name of a London graffiti artist who daubed his name on the M25's only Edwardian bridge, near Denham.

The words "give" and "a chance" were added later, with the amended graffiti thought to refer to his frequent arrests, according to an historic building report by Oxford Archaeology.

The original 'Give peas a chance' graffiti was replaced with 'Helch a chance'