Larnaca appeals to police for help with graffiti clampdown

Larnaca municipality and the local tourism development body Etap have appealed to the police to clamp down on illegal advertising and insulting graffiti scrawled all over the town.

“The continuous bombardment by disparate advertising messages and slogans, disfigures the already burdened urban areas and is one of the most important blows to its image,” a joint statement said.

“Reckless actions, such as writing slogans and insults in public spaces, signs and even private property, is a problem that both Larnaca and Cyprus in general is facing and which unfortunately seems to be intensifying.”

The municipality and Etap urged the police to carry out stricter policing of the city.

At the same time, they called on the Larnaca football fan associations to enlighten their members about “the serious problem they are creating with this behaviour”.

A clean-up campaign to remove illegal advertising on pavements and other public spaces and erasing graffiti was carried out in November. The campaign also received the support of the deputy tourism ministry.

“The continuous campaigns to remove the uncontrolled placement of advertising have brought positive results,” they said, adding that the number of illegal billboards collected this year was reduced compared to last year.