Graffiti– low-level but soul-destroying crime

It is quite possible that the senseless graffiti attacks on Ferry Meadows are the work of one angry and troubled individual (remember the attacks on the town hall and other city centre buildings a few years back?).

And attacks they certainly are – many of them are racist in nature and the offence caused by those is clear. But even if they weren’t this would still be a horrible, albeit low-level, crime.

Ferry Meadows is loved and enjoyed by thousands and thousands of Peterborough folk. It is a place of calm and peace just minutes away from the hectic hustle and bustle of city life.

But that experience is being undermined by the person or persons responsible for these attacks. Graffiti and other types of vandal- ism are not the crimes of the century but they have a dispiriting and soul destroying effect.

There is an underpass near where I live which is regularly daubed with graffiti. It’s not offensive and it is, in places, an attempt, misplaced maybe, at art.

But the effect on anyone walking through is still disturbing.

It says this is a place that is unloved and where your personal safety can’t be guaranteed.

The city council used to diligently come along to my local underpass every few months and “grey’’ over the handiwork. But they seemed to have given up the ghost – another subtle but damaging effect of the cuts perhaps?

It may only be one person responsible but for the sake of the city let’s hope he or she is caught quickly.