Mindless idiots strike

A trail of vandalism and destruction, stretching from the Fishbourne Ferry junction into the centre of Newport, has taken place over two nights this week.

More than 30 signposts and property were targeted in a graffiti spree on Tuesday night, with hundreds of pounds of damage caused to road signs, bus shelter windows, Wightfibre roadside cable boxes and private property.

The graffiti, daubed ‘22 Crew’, spread from the Fishbourne Ferry junction all the way through to the top end of Fairlee.

Newly-elected LibDem IW Councillor for Wootton, Sarah Redrup, said: “I was upset to see so much spray paint appear overnight in Wootton and beyond, staining both public and private surfaces.

“At a time when council resources are already stretched it is frustrating that some individuals have chosen to be so wasteful of other people’s time and money. Being wasteful isn’t impressive or interesting or subversive. Perhaps we shouldn’t give them the attention that they obviously crave.”

Southern Vectis operations manager, Simon Moye, said: “This act of vandalism is extremely disappointing – for us and, I’m sure, for our customers.”

An Island Roads spokesman added: “We are currently assessing the extent of the damage and the type of clean-up required for each site so we can remove the graffiti as swiftly as possible.”

However, the damage did not stop there, and on Wednesday night flower beds outside Boots and Superdrug were attacked and destroyed in more mindless vandalism. Flowers and soil were left strewn across the pavement.

A police spokesman said: “We are aware of the graffiti and the High Street vandalism and we encourage people to report into us with any information. We will look at these reports with a view to identifying any offenders.”

A statement from Newport & Carisbrooke Community Council said: “We were very saddened to wake up to the news that two of our beautiful planters had succumbed to a mindless act of vandalism, with all of the flowers, lovingly planted by Care in the Garden, pulled from the soil, and thrown on the ground.

“We are currently speaking with local businesses to see if we can obtain some CCTV footage of the culprits.”

Vice-chairman, Cllr Martin Oliver added: “ This is such a shame and sad to see, an outrageous act of vandalism to an area that gives so much pleasure to residents snd shoppers.”