£200k of taxpayers money spent clearing up Dudley graffiti
Almost £200,000 of taxpayer's money has been spent cleaning up graffiti across the Dudley borough, it has been revealed.
Since April it has cost Dudley Council around £100,000 to clear up the mess following attacks on shops and properties. And in the previous 12 months the council paid out £95,000 from its coffers to repair damage caused.
The figures come just days after the Stourbridge Shuttle was targeted by vandals who covered two rail cars in graffiti.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for transportation, said: "We share people's frustration when graffiti appears across the borough and have a dedicated team that works hard to remove it.
"Our Love Your Community initiative aims to encourage people to share our pride in this borough and help keep it clean and tidy.
"However, for those who graffiti parts of the borough, we work closely with the police to catch and prosecute them wherever possible."
Staff discovered the attack on the Stourbridge Shuttle on Saturday morning.
The break-in at the Stourbridge Junction depot is believed to have happened some time between 11.45pm on Christmas Eve and 4.30am on Saturday.
Some travellers were forced to use replacement taxis as police were called and windscreens cleaned.
The shuttle was soon up and running as normal and full repair work is now being carried out.
The service ferries over 500,000 passengers a year on the three-minute link between Stourbridge Town and Junction stations.
PreMetro Operations Ltd runs the service in partnership with London Midland.
Steve Jasper, operations director, said: "We are gutted, we count ourselves as a community service in terms of serving Stourbridge.
"I would like to see them brought to book, if they have not got anything better to do at Christmas we are looking at some sad individuals."
In November it was revealed more than £20,000 has been spent on the derelict Dudley Hippodrome after vandalism attacks forced repairs.
Steel doors have been forced open and security fencing damaged while monitoring checks have had to be carried out on the building since 2010.
And in the same month Members of Halesowen Abbey Trust discovered vandals had broken into the Grade I listed walled garden at The Leasowes park in Halesowen.
The group want to restore the 18th century garden and said they will not be deterred by the vandals who had smashed windows, ripped up electric cables and lit fires on the two-acre plot.
In September there was a spate of graffiti across Brierley Hill, sparking a police probe and a council investigation. The most common tags sprayed on premises and property have been CNS — which may stand for 'city never sleeps' — and SIMBA.
Anyone who sees graffiti or vandalism can report it to the council by calling 0300 555 2345.
