Workmen from East Cambs District Council had to move across from other duties to remove offensive graffiti painted on a city wall.

Ely Standard: Offensive graffiti in Ely removed swiftly by East Cambs Council, PICTURE; Ely Standard readerOffensive graffiti in Ely removed swiftly by East Cambs Council, PICTURE; Ely Standard reader (Image: Archant)

“Vile racist graffiti starting to appear around Ely,” said an Ely Standard reader. “Council appears slow to act.”

But once alerted the council took immediate steps to have it removed.

And in a message posted by the council today they promised to continue with an urgent response.

“Offensive graffiti can cause people distress and includes anything that might be considered racist, sexist, obscene or inflammatory” said a council spokesman.

“East Cambs Street Scene aims to remove offensive graffiti within 24 hours of it being reported.”

The spokesman said that if you come across graffiti or witness someone doing graffiti, you can report it to Cambridgeshire Constabulary on 101 or at http://cambs.police.uk or by contacting East Cambridgeshire District Council via 01353 665555.

Our reader said she was pleased the council moved swiftly to remove the graffiti that she spotted on the old convenience store site in Cromwell Road, Ely.

The council says its street scene team will remove offensive graffiti from private property too, free of charge, with the land-owners’ permission and aim to remove it within 48 hours.

“We will also be able to provide a competitive quote for the removal of non-offensive graffiti from private property,” said the spokesman.

If you would like to report some graffiti please contact the council’s customer services on 01353 665555 or complete an online form.

Report Graffiti

British Telecom or Virgin Media Street Cabinets

If you find graffiti on any British Telecom or Virgin Media street cabinets, please report this directly to either BT Openreach or Virgin Media as follows:

Virgin Media: e-mail: cabinet&plantmaintenance@virginmedia.co.uk or telephone 0870 888 3116, please note that you will need to provide a specific location or the asset number on the cabinet, as well as a contact phone number or e-mail so they can contact you if they can’t find the location in question.

BT Openreach: telephone 0800 023 2023 (select Option 1), again you will need to provide a specific location, asset number (if known) and a contact name and number.