Volunteers donned their rubber gloves and armed themselves with scrubbing brushes and paint rollers at the weekend to battle a spate of recent graffiti in Teignmouth.

Cleaning up graffiti in Teignmouth
Cleaning up Teignmouth's graffiti (Photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

Many were the same volunteers who were left devastated last weekend when the mural they painted to brighten an underpass in the town was vandalised ‘within hours’ of them finishing on Saturday (September 7).

As well as defacing the fresh artwork in the subway by Teignmouth railway station, vandals left similar ‘tags’ on walls by Teignmouth Library, on Quay Road by Teignmouth docks and Clay Lane.

Covering up graffiti 'tags' around Teignmouth
Covering up the 'tags' left throughout Teignmouth (Photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

‘While we didn’t deal with all the graffiti today (September 14), we got rid of a lot,’ said Councillor David Cox who rallied the clean-up group together.

Councillor David Cox scrubs out graffiti in a Teignmouth underpass
Councillor David Cox scrubs out Teignmouth graffiti (photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

Teignmouth Town Council has offered a £200 reward for information that helps identify graffiti vandals.

Councillors are optimistic that the perpetrator(s) of last week’s vandalism have been captured on CCTV.

‘We need a joined-up approach. There is a study from the University of Utrecht that says graffiti across an area leads to an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour,’ David noted.

David Cox cleaning up a pedestrian bridge over the railway in Teignmouth
David Cox cleaning up a pedestrian bridge over the railway in Teignmouth (Photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

Prior to working on the subway mural earlier this month, community artists had already covered up previous graffiti on the murals they painted last year.

Councillor Dan Comer covers up graffiti in a Teignmouth subway
Councillor Dan Comer covers up graffiti in a Teignmouth subway (Photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

Artwork ideas for the Teignmouth In Mind and Environment (TIME) project had been generated after consultation with the community and visitors to the town. The project is aimed at creating a bright, creative environment where residents can feel a sense of belonging and ownership.

‘It's disheartening to see our community's hard work defaced by graffiti, especially when so many people have come together to improve and brighten our town. The fact that the damage occurred just hours after we completed the project made it even more painful,’ said Sam Lock, community artist and Teignmouth Recycled Art in the Landscape (TRAIL) co-ordinator.

One of the volunteer artists with Sam Lock, who leads the subway community art projects (Photo: David Caunter)
One of the volunteer artists with Sam Lock, who leads the subway community art projects (Photo: David Caunter) (David Caunter)

‘However,’ she added, ‘this setback won't stop us—in fact, it's only strengthened our want to fix this to continue making Teignmouth a beautiful, welcoming place for everyone. We will keep pushing forward, determined to show that creativity and community spirit are stronger than any act of vandalism.’