Chrisha Góes, who has lived in Swindon for 10 years, decided to start scrubbing off the graffiti which covers the Swindon Tented Market on Commercial Road.
“It gives a very bad vibe, as you go into town. It is not very welcoming,” said Chrisha.
Chrisha is part of Keep Swindon Tidy, and often comes into town to clean and litter pick.
“Every time we would come in, the graffiti would just bother us. It is an eye sore,” she said.
“It just doesn’t feel like people are taking care of Swindon.”
Along with a mother and son from Keep Swindon Tidy, Hayley and Heath Ridgewell, Chrisha set to work cleaning the back end of the tented market, opposite McDonald’s and Boots.
They will be returning at other weekends to do more, with a particular focus on the side of the market facing Commercial Road.
Swindon’s original town centre market operated between 1892 and 1977.
In 1994, The Tented Market opened at its site at the corner of Farnsby Street and Commercial Road.
It has remained empty since its closure in August 2017.
A spokesperson for the owners of the tented market, CJV Properties Limited, told the BBC: “We would like to thank Chrisha and her team for their clean-up efforts.
“We have had many similar problems with vandalism and break ins over the years and look to address these issues when they occur, but there is a balance as the likely outcome for the property will be demolition when redevelopment can move forward.”
Chrisha said graffiti in Swindon is a problem that goes beyond the market.
She said she has noticed it appearing on various shops that have closed down in the town centre.
A solution to this could be providing more designated places for people to paint graffiti, she said.
Chrisha said people have been “lovely” about her clean up, with many stopping by to ask what she was doing.
She told the BBC: “I’ve been very grateful to Swindon because I came here ten years ago from India, and Swindon has given me a better life.
“I thought, why not, I have spare time on my hands, why not do litter picking or graffiti removal.”