A map inside Jesmond station was defaced with graffiti this week, prompting Metro operator Nexus to promise it would take a tough line on tackling problem.

The graffiti was noted by a member of the public on the morning of February 17^th and follows repeated acts of vandalism on the Metro, with Nexus’s @My_Metro account tweeting about vandalism causing delays, train withdrawals and out-of-service lifts 43 times since the start of 2020.

Vandalism has also caused anger amongst Metro users, with some asking for more security measures to prevent it from happening.

Metro users took to social media to discuss the problem. Source: @My_Metro

Explaining why trains have to be withdrawn because of vandalism, a Nexus spokesperson said: “Graffiti is criminal damage and when it occurs on the Metro it gets reported to the police.

“When a train gets spray-painted it gets removed from service as soon as possible – usually when passing Gosforth – as it’s much easier to clean off fresh paint. We understand this can cause inconvenience, but we need to balance that with public safety and repairing the damage.”

This latest spate of graffiti at Jesmond has since been cleaned up, in keeping with Nexus’s promise to remove graffiti “as soon as possible”. Graffiti “of an offensive nature” is cleaned off within 24 hours.

Nexus said that it spends almost £500,000 a year “cleaning up behind vandals”, and said it is determined to take a “tough line on confronting the problem”.

As a part of this tough approach, Nexus launched Operation Hades this month, which sees undercover police and Nexus staff board trains in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour and catch any offenders in the act.

Vandals “don’t see the impact they are having on others –  the delays and disruption, not to mention people feeling unsafe and even scared”

Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner

If you know or suspect anyone committing criminal damage you can report it by contacting Northumbria Police on 101 or on the Northumbria Police website. If the crime is witnessed in progress, you can call 999.