A series of spray-painted tags have sprung up in a town prompting patrols and a search to catch an elusive \u201cBanksy wannabe\u201d.<\/p>\n
The name \u201cLorenso\u201d has been repeatedly daubed in graffiti across various street furniture and property around Snodland.<\/p>\n
One of the many “Lorenso” signature graffiti taggs which have sprung up in and around Snodland<\/p>\n
The tag has been spotted on a utility box, a public bin, and metal doors near a substation in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
According to councillors and residents, the vandalism usually \u201chappens at night\u201d, and in places without CCTV, where the culprit is difficult to identify.<\/p>\n
Richard, a local dog walker who did not wish to give his full name, told KentOnline he was upset by the vandalism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t art \u2014 it\u2019s just disrespect,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows no regard for the people who care about how the village looks and take pride in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is not Banksy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cLorenso\u201d tag spray-painted on a utility box near people’s homes
One of the \u201cLorenso\u201d tags spotted on a public bin in Snodland.<\/p>\n
Tonbridge and Malling borough councillors Sue Bell and Luke Chapman are actively trying to uncover the mystery behind the tags and are encouraging anyone with information to come forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping the community will help us track down this elusive artist,\u201d said Cllr Chapman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more people come forward, the better we can put an end to this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nick Watts, a former council candidate and administrator of a local Facebook page, also shared an update online explaining the challenges involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with graffiti is tough, especially when there’s little to go on,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Councillor Luke Chapman (Con), who represents Snodland East and Ham Hill, is encouraging residents to report the graffiti<\/p>\n
\u201cIt usually happens at night, in places without CCTV, and those doing it often cover their faces \u2013 making it very hard to identify them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that although the \u201cLorenso\u201d tag has been seen in several locations, there are no confirmed details about the person responsible, including their age, gender, or whether they live locally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout that, it’s difficult for the police to know where or when to focus their efforts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Watts noted that policing resources are currently stretched and unless new information emerges, there is little more that can be done in terms of the investigation.<\/p>\n
However, he confirmed a new anti-social behaviour team will soon begin patrols in Snodland, which could help gather useful observations.<\/p>\n
He urged residents to report any suspicious activity or information to the police.<\/p>\n
Police are looking into the reports but sat they are unable to comment at this stage while inquiries are ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of spray-painted tags have sprung up in a town prompting patrols and a search to catch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,188,4022,77,609,495,56205,18943,60226,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-138125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-crime","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-human-interest","14":"tag-kent","15":"tag-malling","16":"tag-quirky","17":"tag-tonbridge","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}