Artists on track to spray out a safety message; METRO STATION GRAFFITI MURALS WARN OF FIRE DANGERS

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Dec 27, 2008

Byline: By PETER YOUNG Political Editor

SOME say it's crime, others think it's art.

But graffiti is being used on the Metro to help hammer home a fire safety message and reduce anti-social behaviour.

Young people aged 10 to 18 have created murals warning about the dangers of wheelie bin and chip pan fires.

The artwork is on display at Felling Metro station, and the project has the backing of fire chiefs and council leaders as well as Metro operator Nexus.

Bosses at Nexus say they continue to have a zero tolerance attitude to illegal graffiti, which costs pounds 300,000 a year, and when offenders are caught they are prosecuted.

But the art project is part of an education programme which is said to be reducing anti-social behaviour.

The murals are on large display boards opposite the station platforms, where train passengers cannot miss them.

It follows an experiment with graffiti display boards at Chillingham Road, Newcastle, which Nexus officials say have been popular and have helped reduce illegal graffiti at the station.

The murals at Felling draw attention to the dangers associated with wheelie bin fires and chip pan fires with some clever and thought-provoking designs.

They've been created by youngsters involved in Gateshead council's Futures Plus and Respect Birtley youth inclusion programmes.

The aim is to encourage them to think about the issue of fire safety awareness and to help deter them from anti-social behaviour.

Nexus is working in partnership with the council and the Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

Steve Hunt, graffiti supervisor for Nexus, said: "We think it is important to give local youngsters the opportunity to show off their artwork on the Metro system in this way as it helps to channel them away from crime and anti-social behaviour.

"The displays at Felling station look good, and the youngsters involved in the project have really got to grips with the issue and have come up with some eyecatching designs. It's a job well done, and hopefully we'll be seeing more displays like this in the future."

Coun Catherine Donovan, cabinet member for children and young people at Gateshead Council said: "This is an innovative project which will see the carefully thought-out work of Gateshead's young people displayed with fitting prominence on a subject of great social importance."

CAPTION(S):

EYE-CATCHING: One of the graffiti posters