Hackney Council has blitzed four areas of graffiti in the borough and applied special anti-graffiti paint, to guarantee easier and greener removal of graffiti in the future.

The Council has spent £5,000 of central government funding - earmarked for tackling anti-social behaviour - on the graffiti crackdown.

Four areas that are prone to getting graffitied have now been painted. These include, Boundary Passage and Boundary Street off Shoreditch High Street; French Place also in Shoreditch and Willow Cottages near Stamford Hill Station.

Use of the special paint means that further graffiti can now be blasted off using high pressure “greener” water jets, rather than chemicals, which had had to be used in order to tackle “hard to reach” graffiti that had sunk into brick walls. The Council’s dedicated six-person graffiti removal team are also now driving vans with special electric rear axels which cut down on fuel consumption and are better for the environment.

Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods said: “Drawing or spray painting on a public wall is an illegal act of anti-social behaviour. The prompt removal of graffiti helps to encourage a cleaner, greener Hackney, which we know is important to residents.

"The Council is responsible for removing graffiti, and officers ensure that this occurs as soon as possible. If residents see any graffiti that has not been investigated or cleaned by the Council, they can alert us to this by contacting the Environmental Enforcement team.”

To report graffiti online go to http://www.hackney.gov.uk/ew-graffiti-584 or contact the Council’s Environmental Enforcement Line 020 8356 4810. Hackney Council agrees to: investigate reports of graffiti within 48 hours. Remove offensive graffiti on buildings owned or managed by the council within 24 hours. And remove non-offensive graffiti within 14 days.