YOUNG offenders will now be removing graffiti as part of their community service in an initiative set up Belfast City Council and the Probation Board.
The service will apply to non-contentious graffiti on walls and buildings across the city and will run on a pilot basis until the end of March 2018.
Launching the new service in the Shankill area yesterday, the lord mayor of Belfast, Brian Kingston, said that the council was extremely aware of the negative impact which graffiti has across the city.
"Graffiti is a prevalent and environmental problem, linked to anti-social behaviour in many areas of Belfast," he said.
"The council has finite resources to deal with the scale of non-offensive graffiti throughout the city and we see this partnership with the probation service as a mechanism to addressing some of the non-contentious graffiti in the city."
Cheryl Lamont, chief executive of the Probation Board, said the project could be rolled out across other councils if it is successful.
"The service will give an opportunity to offenders to make good on the harm they have caused to local communities as well as improving the environment for the citizens of Belfast," she added.
