WARDENS ADMIT VANDALISING GRAFFITI

22-09-2007

The Stirrer has finally confirmed the identity of two Council funded street wardens in Birmingham who daubed a "Stop Tagging" message on graffiti sprayed in a pub car park – without realising that the art had been commissioned by the landlady.

Kim Monaghan and Graham Flint who work for Moseley Community Development Trust have owned up to their vigilante action and apologised to Anne Garside who runs the Jug Of Ale in Moseley.

Anne is a community-minded woman who also allows the car park to be used by parents dropping their kids off to the school next door, and next month plans to open the doors of her pub to a (strictly non-alcoholic) teatime club for teenagers.

She also allows a group of local graffiti artists known as The Gifted Few to express themselves with their paints on three otherwise blank walls.

"I'm letting young people have something to do, it's a positive outlet" she explains.

"The car park is out the back, so it's not visible to passers-by, so where's the problem?

"Too often people move into this area, and think 'I've got my big house, now we don't want young people hanging around, ruining it.'

"I'm taking a different view and saying we've got to give those young people an outlet."

Warden Kim Monaghan who was caught (red-handed?) on CCTV painting the "Stop Tagging" message said: "We thought if we messed up their work, they would get a sense of what it feels like when they do it to other people's houses or businesses."

Police showed no inclination to prosecute Kim and his partner in crime Graham Flint but instead brokered a meeting at which they apologised to Anne.

The wardens have accused some of The Gifted Few of tagging elsewhere in Moseley and Anne says she'll be drawing up a code of conduct to make sure that anyone who does so is banned from painting on the wall of The Jug.

See more on this story in The Stirrer's weekly Birmingham Mail column here.

And join the debate on our Message Board. Is Anne a community minded hero? Should the wardens have been prosecuted? Or were they carrying out a public service.