My tolerance for graffiti is low - it is just plain ugly. Grafitti is nothing more than dressed up vandalism performed without permission from the owner. But what to do? Jail is not an answer - maybe a community order to clean up the mess? Or a designated public area for grafitti 'art' as has worked in some places (but not all).

In our area the council painted art on the fences along some of the main roads to avoid the ugly graffitti that had characterised them for some time. Needless to say it only took a few nongs to decide to deface this art with their own illegitimate scribblings.

It is a real 'emperor's new clothes' analogy the way vandalism has now been categorised as art or an outlet for youth as an excuse to deface somebody's property.