The mysterious graffiti artist 'Test' tagging walls all over a Bristol suburb
Police are trying to find out who is the graffiti artist or group responsible for mysterious graffiti which has recently appeared all around Staple Hill.
The Bristol suburb has experienced a significant rise in vandalism with a curiously significant number of tags simply reading ‘Test.’
Staple Hill councillor Ian Boulton spotted 11 instances of the specific graffiti tag in a 200 metre stretch between Broad Street’s Tesco Metro and Page Park, and believes the problem is worsening.
He said: “It’s been developing over the last few months, and it’s mainly that one tag – Test. Whoever they are, probably a small group, they are absolutely prolific.
“The police have to be very lucky if they are going to catch the offenders red-handed and therefore they are really dependent on intelligence provided to them by the public.“I’m not aware of any sightings of the culprits. I don’t know whether people feel it is not a reportable offence, but we need it to be reported so we can understand the scale of the problem.”
Cllr Boulton has received reports of ‘Test’ graffiti appearing in Emersons Green, Downend, and Fishponds, with vandal activity also being sighted in Eastville and Kingswood.
He acknowledges the cost of removing the damage from shop shutters, fencing, and bins can run up a bill into thousands of pounds and calls on South Gloucestershire Council to waive any charge for clearing graffiti on private properties in Staple Hill.
He said: “Usually the council is pretty good at getting it removed from public property, but they will take a charge from the owner if they’re doing private property.
“We are concerned that this charge might be a barrier for property owners to remove the graffiti from their premises, leaving our neighbourhood blighted by this vandalism.
“Mindful of the ‘Broken Window theory’ that leaving damage unrepaired may attract further vandalism, we have asked the council to look at what be done to overcome this hurdle and support the victims of these crimes.”
A council spokesman has responded to waiving charges and encourages people to speak up if they know anything about the recent spike in vandalism.
They said: “Graffiti is an act of vandalism which is completely unacceptable and blights our local communities.
"There is normally charge for our StreetCare team to remove graffiti from privately owned properties but we have been in discussions with property owners in Staple Hill about removing some of this without cost, for a short period to get on top of the recent spate of incidents.
“We encourage anyone who has information relating to instances of graffiti in South Gloucestershire to report it to the police, or by calling us on 01454 868000, or by email so it can be investigated.”
The South Gloucestershire neighbourhood policing team posted a statement on Facebook about its work to tackle vandalism.
It said: “We have a close working partnership with the South Glos Council Antisocial Behaviour team and local councillors.
“We have been working with the local schools, showing images of the graffiti to pupils to see if they can identify offenders by their tags. Also we have given advice on the risks and consequences of causing damage and being dealt with by the police.“As you can see some great work has been done by the team. If you can offer any information in relation to the damage please contact 101 and quote ref 5220135324.”
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