Colchester councillors suggest street artists to fight graffiti

Councillor Lee Scordis suggested street artists be used in areas where graffiti was a problem

Councillors in Colchester have asked for graffiti hotspots to be covered by local street artists in a bid to tackle a problem with vandalism.

Labour councillor Lee Scordis made the proposal and said Colchester Borough Council did not have the resources to continue cleaning illegal graffiti.

The Conservative-led cabinet welcomed the suggestion and pointed to successful pilots elsewhere in the country.

No official decision was made.

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday heard tagging and graffiti were prominent in areas such as the Hythe and New Town.

Mr Scordis said graffiti was "a menace" that troubled lots of areas in Colchester, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Darius Laws, portfolio holder for economy, business and heritage, said a similar strategy of using local artists to cover up graffiti had been successfully tried by a company in Walthamstow.

He said the art there was "respected" meaning people "don't come along and tag and ruin them."