VOLUNTEERS are wanted to clean up two graffiti-daubed bridges over Oxford Canal in the north of the city.

St Margaret’s city councillor Elizabeth Wade said the Canal and River Trust wanted to remove the tags while it carried out work on a towpath.

But because it did not have the necessary manpower it had appealed for volunteers to helpit, she added.

The request came as the Oxford Mail revealed more than 1,000 cases of graffiti on private property had been logged on the city council’s database.

The latest graffiti is scrawled in bright colours on Aristotle Bridge and Frenchay Road bridge.

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The trust owns the land and is currently carrying out work to resurface the canal towpath to improve it for walkers and cyclists. It has asked Mrs Wade to recruit volunteers.

She said: “It’s sad because the bridges just look like an awful mess.

“We’d like to get it cleared off but the trust doesn’t have the manpower, so we are hoping people will come forward and volunteer.”

The Canal and River Trust said it would provide special cleaning equipment to volunteers so the historic red-brick bridges were not damaged by scrubbing.

It will meet those People interested in helping are asked to join trust officials on site to examine the graffiti tomorrow[feb26] morning.

The appeal for volunteers came just days after the Oxford Mail revealed the vast problem of graffiti on private property across Oxford.

Oxford City Council told the Oxford Mail at the weekend its streetscene team had more than 1,000 cases logged on its database that workers were not allowed to deal with.

The authority provides a graffiti-cleaning service to other organisations, charging £27 an hour on top of £15 per square metre for removal.

But its so far it reported efforts so far to entice firms such as BT, Network Rail and Virgin Media – whose infrastructure is often blighted by the daubings – had failed.

The situation has prompted tourism chiefs to warn the issue could cause parts of Oxford to look “unkempt, untidy, uncared-for and possibly even unsafe”.

Over the next year the city council has pledged to spend £33,000 a year to tackle the scourge.

Part of that sum could even be spent employing someone to pile pressure on private firms to take action, the council said.

Those interested in helping to clean the North Oxford bridges should contact Councillor Wade by emailing cllrlwade@oxford.gov.uk