Following discussions with Merton Council it was agreed that something should be done. If the WPHG supplied the manpower, the Council would supply the paint, and we could start to rid the Park of this menace. Our strategy was one of Rapid Reaction, i.e. in order to get the message across to the offenders, it was necessary to remove any new graffiti within 24 hours of its appearance.

We started in the Spring of 2001 and to date we have had very satisfactory results. The Park was still attacked on occasion, but the clean-up now took less than an hour to complete and nearly all of the active graffers, who used to deface the Park’s buildings and fences, have now quit the area.

Following the example set by WPHG, Merton Council have launched a major clean-up campaign for the Borough, and WPHG have been involved in helping other local groups organise themselves into Graffiti Buster teams.

If you need help with this sort of a problem, then please contact us. Self sufficiency is the key, and you really can make a difference to your neighbourhood. We now have many more elderly people using the Park because it now feels safe, and when you are clearing graffiti, there is nothing nicer than to have a total stranger come up to you and express how grateful they are that somebody is doing something to make this place look better.