The independent charity Crimestoppers teamed up with Cramlington Town Council to encourage people to report anything they know about those responsible for recent graffiti and tagging across the town.

Graffiti and tagging are criminal damage and it is blighting parts of Cramlington, costing many thousands of pounds and man-hours to clear up on a yearly basis. It is also making areas look run-down, neglected and threatening.

Crimestoppers is appealing for people across South East Northumberland to report anything they know about who is behind the graffiti, by directly contacting the charity who guarantee 100% anonymity. This means no one will ever know who passed on information.

Ruth McNee, North East Regional Manager at the charity Crimestoppers, said:“We are not talking about a Banksy being created, or urban art here, there are people deliberating ‘tagging’ areas in Cramlington making them look unsightly and threatening. I would encourage anyone who has suspicions or thinks they know who is responsible to contact Crimestoppers completely anonymously. You would be helping the whole community of Cramlington and could be eligible for a reward of up to £1,000.

“At Crimestoppers, we have kept our promise of anonymity since we began over 32 years ago, so you can trust that when you tell us anything, no one will ever know. Anyone can contact us online via our simple and secure untraceable online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org, or you can call our 24-hour UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111. The number will not show up on any phone bill and we are not interested in who you are, just what you know.”

Please note: Computer IP addresses are never traced and no-one will ever know you contacted Crimestoppers. For telephone calls, there is no caller identification display, no 1471 facility and calls have never been traced.