Update II: Birmingham City Council has removed the graffiti.
(Original story below).
Locals in the Small Heath area of Birmingham have covered up and condemned racist and anti-Muslim graffiti, after photos of the vandalism circulated online.
Photos appeared the Facebook group ‘Small Heath News’ on August 12, the racist and anti-Muslim graffiti in two locations makes a crude reference to paedophilia and the racial epithet ‘P*ki’.
One local resident then uploaded photos of his efforts to cover the words in black paint. Many thanked the man for his actions, with one person adding: ‘Good on you for covering it up the twits who did it should be disgusted in themselves’.
One local replied to the news: ‘This is so sad to see…most of my child hood friends were Muslim… and I love the fact that I grew up in such a vibrant area of culture’.
We were given permission to share additional photos of the graffiti after a member of the public had contacted us online.
According to West Midlands Police, the council will try to remove any racist graffiti within 48 hours.
Anyone can report graffiti in public areas – be it on bins, benches, and public buildings – to their local council.
Birmingham City Council has been made aware of the graffiti.
The vandalism has also been reported to West Midlands Police.
Update: a local Small Heath resident has sent us a photograph of the graffiti they had taken on Sunday evening, demonstrating how some had attempted to cover the graffiti.
Another local in the Facebook group described seeing the graffiti yesterday. We will raise this further with the relevant authorities.
Hate crime can be reported through 999 in an emergency, by dialling 101 in a non-emergency, directly at a police station, or using True Vision online.
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