A SERIES of murals could be painted around Ipswich town centre in a bid to reduce graffiti.The paintings, which would be created by students from Suffolk College, are one of the measures being suggested by the town's graffiti hit squad.

A SERIES of murals could be painted around Ipswich town centre in a bid to reduce graffiti.

The paintings, which would be created by students from Suffolk College, are one of the measures being suggested by the town's graffiti hit squad.

Ipswich Borough Council has funded the graffiti squad for the next year after a successful six-month trial saw the two-man team remove 500 pieces of graffiti and clean-up 100 telecoms boxes which had been defaced.

The council has devoted more than £30,000 to the squad for the next year and the team is aiming to raise a further £20,000 by carrying out jobs for businesses in the town who want graffiti removed from their premises.

While companies pay for the cleaning service, residents are entitled to have graffiti cleaned from their properties free of charge.

Debbie Reeve, the cleansing manager for the borough's council's StreetCare department, said: “It's a free of charge service for domestic residences but if it's a commercial or retail business premises then we would give them a quote to carry out the work.

“We want people to make use of the squad so we can make an impact. It's about cleaning up the town.

“The team is absolutely brilliant. They're a very enthusiastic pair and they're very dedicated.”

Graffiti squad members Andy Milward and Andy Baker spend their time finding graffiti around the town and seeking permission from residents and businesses to clean it off.

Now the council wants to involve businesses and students from Suffolk College to create murals in prominent locations in the hope of deterring graffiti artists from leaving their mark.

Last month Ipswich won the 2007 Cleanest Town in Britain award thanks to a range of efforts to improve the appearance of the town.

You can report any graffiti you see or ask the graffiti squad to visit your house by calling the Cleaner Ipswich Hotline on 01473 433000.

What do you think should be done to tackle graffiti? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.