Cambridge Latin graffiti removed one month later

Four of the £1.25m houses were vandalised last month

Latin graffiti daubed across luxury homes in Cambridge has finally been removed - one month after it appeared.

Four new five-bedroom river-front houses were painted with the words locus in domos loci populum in Water Street, Chesterton, on 4 April.

It is thought the vandals intended the phrase, splashed on the £1.25m homes to mean "local homes for local people".

Developers hoped to have the houses cleaned within two days, but it took longer and they had to re-paint.

The graffiti, believed to be done in white gloss paint, appeared overnight on the properties overlooking the River Cam.

People living nearby have said the classically-inspired messages, which appear to be a protest against the development, could "only happen" in the university city.

The houses have now been repainted

Specialist cleaners were able to remove the graffiti from windows and brickwork, but not all of it came off the cladding, and new paint had to ordered.

A specialist company had to be brought in to remove the paint

This was as much as could be removed - so developers had to order new paint

In the aftermath of the graffiti's appearance, social media was awash with arguments about what the words meant and why they were put there.

"This is the most Cambridge thing ever" and "it's a different class of graffiti in Cambridge", were just some of the comments posted.

Three of the four houses had already been sold when the vandals hit.

Selling agent Bidwells said: "Those who visited after... were aware of what happened, but we did not find that it put anyone off."

All the properties are now under offer.

The developer said the cost of removing the graffiti was £4,000.

Cambridgeshire Police are continuing to investigate the graffiti, but no-one has been arrested yet.