Exeter youngsters "too young to die"
Exeter has been hit by graffiti again, but this time, there's a strongly worded message.
The writing's appeared on walls outside Exeter Sea Scouts' headquarters.
Messages tell youngsters, aged from around ten to late teens, that they're "Too young to die at sea in the real navy" and that this is the place to "join the child soldiers."
The graffiti contains none of the normal artistic 'tags' frequently seen around the city.
The parent of one 15-year-old sea cadet says his boy wanted to know what the implication of the words were. "What's shocking to me isn't so much graffiti on a wall - we see enough of that - but that this seems to be carefully considered phrasing, aimed at children, and is quite long. It must have taken a while to write."
Exeter City Council, which is responsible for removing graffiti, says it wasn't aware, but will look into it. Its policy is to remove offensive graffiti within 48 hours of it being reported, and graffiti that isn't deemed to be offensive within 20 days. However, the council isn't allowed to remove graffiti on private property without the consent of the owner of the property, whether it's offensive or not. Exeter's graffiti removal service is free though. They just need to be asked.
Last September, an Exeter language school fined some of its students £75 for graffiti at Exeter Quay.
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