THE borough council has issued a public response to an unnamed graffiti artist’s latest piece of handiwork.

In recent months, a number of writings featuring the ‘Ease’ tag have appeared on walls across Andover, with examples spotted in various location including High Street, Waterloo Court, Union Street, Vigo Road and more.

Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) has been working with organisations across the town to have the graffiti removed.

But a fresh message last week appeared on the wall of the underpass at the top of Union Street, suggesting those groups would be better off directing their efforts towards feeding the homeless.

Now, the council has responded, requesting the perpetrator stops ‘defacing’ the town in order to get a message across.

The full message from the graffiti artist read: “To whom it may concern, the money spent on cleaning this could feed a homeless person for a week. Where do your priorities lie? Signed, Ease.”

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But TVBC has since hit back, agreeing with the notion that the money could be better spent on numerous causes whilst advising the culprit to desist from producing the graffiti in the first place.

“To ‘Ease’,” the council’s response read, “we agree, the money spent on cleaning this graffiti could be put towards much more important things.”

Those “much more important things” listed by the authority include include:

- Providing support to someone who may lose or has already lost their home

- Providing services via the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) for those who are experiencing homelessness in the cold weather

- Funding and supporting community projects

- Supporting a new or existing business

- Providing exercise equipment in local parks to encourage an active lifestyle

- Helping a family in need apply for financial support

The statement added: “We appreciate you are trying to get a message to us, but please don’t deface the town in doing so.

"We’re here to listen on Facebook, Twitter, email, phone, via a letter or face to face.”

The authority also appealed to anyone who may have information regarding the graffiti to get in touch.

Members of the public can report graffiti to the police via hampshire.police.uk or to the council at testvalley.gov.uk.