Dad acts over racist graffiti
RHONDDA man Sion Tomos Owen took immediate action after someone wrote graffiti supporting a far-right group across an iconic Valleys landmark – he painted over it.
A RHONDDA man jumped in his car and took immediate action after someone wrote graffiti supporting a far-right group across an iconic Valleys landmark.
Sion Tomos Owen was driving over Rhigos mountain on Saturday, when he noticed the words “Britain First” spray-painted in capital letters on the famous watchman’s hut.
The black paint covered the right side of the hut – which was recently repainted as part of a regeneration project – and seems to offer its support to the organisation.
Britain First’s published official policies say it would offer grants to “those of foreign descent” who wish to leave the UK permanently, introduce a number of bans relating to Islam and “halt any further immigration except in special cases”.
Mr Owen says he was “tamping” after spotting the graffiti, and went home to get some paint and a brush.
“I was tamping when I saw it driving down from a lovely day out,” the 33-yearold, from Treorchy, said.
“I dropped the girls [his partner and daughter] off at home, fetched the paint and went straight back up.
“I was not having the first thing people see coming into our valley being some far-right idiot’s nonsense – tarring us all with the same spray-can.”
Mr Owen added: ”The watchman’s hut is finally looking nice again and they go and ruin it.
“Thankfully I’ve had plenty of messages of support and people saying they were going to do the same themselves – I just happened to be the first to find a paintbrush.” In a Facebook post, Sion said there was no support for such words in his local area. Sion used the hashtag #NotInMyValley, which many users repeated in comments of support.
Hundreds of people have liked, shared and commented on the post, with many describing the graffiti as horrifying and thanking Sion for covering it up.
One user, Christian Jenkins, wrote: “Saw this earlier and was horrified! Thanks for erasing it!”
While another user, Emma Jones, said: “Well done! Not in our Valley!
And Paul Yandle wrote: “Sion, if you’re ever in Caerphilly, buddy, give me a shout on here and I’ll meet you in town, show you the castle and buy you a pint. Good man.”
Rhondda AM Leanne Wood said: “Good work Sion. We must all do whatever we can to keep the racist far-right out of the Rhondda.”
The watchman’s hut was once occupied by a “watchman” who would examine the road to make sure it was clear of rocks and sheep.
The watchman started making small sculptures out of discarded plastic and copper wire that would adorn the landscape surrounding it. Colourful flowers also sprang up and it soon became a popular photo opportunity for passers-by.
The building was painted earlier this year as part of the Watchman’s Hut Project.