Youngsters in Caerphilly have been helping to celebrate the anniversary of a legal graffiti wall.
The Wreck Jam event, which took place on August 28 at Caerphilly Skate Park at Caerphilly Leisure Centre, was a huge success with the winners of a special graffiti art competition announced.
Youngsters were asked to submit a design around a “Cauldron and Furnaces” theme.
The winning design was then recreated on the graffiti wall during the event.
The Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough John Evans chose a winner.
First place went to Jessie McCarthy with joint second going to Scot Chamberlain and Arran Williams.
The police and the council have said that since the wall opened, the amount of graffiti on buildings in and around Caerphilly town centre has decrease.
Council leader Lindsay Whittle said: “The legal graffiti wall has contributed significantly to the reduction in instances of illegal graffiti throughout the town.
“We have some extremely talented youngsters in our county borough, some of whom I met at the Wreck Jam event and saw for myself their artistic talents.
“It must be remembered however that spraying graffiti on buildings and other property is an offence, therefore I would encourage the very small minority who think it is acceptable to spray graffiti illegally to come along and make full use of the excellent facility that is the legal graffiti wall.”
Inspector Paul Staniforth, from Gwent Police, said: “The local neighbourhood policing team has supported the use of the graffiti wall from the very start.
“It is important that we remember that unwanted graffiti is a crime in itself and contributes to the overall fear of crime within a community.
“It is also important that we recognise that graffiti is seen by certain youths as an artistic way of self expression, which makes diversion projects, such as the graffiti wall, a crucial part of our overall partnership strategy in tackling this type of crime.”
