WEST Wiltshire District Council will not allow two offenders guilty of a spate of graffiti to clean it off themselves as punishment in case it is sued for criminal damage.

Despite a resolution being passed by the council's cabinet in June that offenders should whenever possible be made to clean off graffiti on private property themselves, council officers are now backtracking on the policy.

After a recent spate of graffiti in the College and Newtown areas of Trowbridge the Neighbourhood Policing Team increased patrols there and caught the two offenders.

A police officer arranged for them to clean off the graffiti as punishment only to be told by the district council that its contractor, English Landscapes, would not allow this as it went against their own contract. However, English Landscapes would not clean it off themselves either.

District councillor Jeff Osborn raised the issue with the council in frustration, as he was responsible for helping form the graffiti policy that the cabinet voted through in June.

He said: "Are West Wiltshire District Council policies not worth the paper they are written on?

"Does no-one at Bradley Road care about anti-social behaviour and the impact it has upon local people just yards away from the offices?

"The police and I are extremely put out by this."

A spokesman for West Wiltshire District Council said the council had a protocol for removing graffiti but it cannot be extended for private property.

He added: "English Landscapes do not have a remit to remove graffiti from residential properties as it can be difficult to obtain the owners' consent and they do not have the necessary insurance liability. In theory, they could be sued for criminal damage.

"The multi-agency Anti-Social Behaviour Panel, of which the district council manages and leads, is looking to introduce a reparation project whereby offenders would clean the graffiti themselves.

"It is hoped that the two offenders in the College/Newtown case would be used in a pilot project.

"Wiltshire Police are researching whether they are able to provide insurance liability for the new scheme, and the Youth Offending Team will carry out any necessary risk assessments. This scheme is still in the early stages of planning."

Cllr Osborn said he welcomed the news that the offenders would be made to do some kind of work as punishment but said it was a pity it had taken so long to sort out.