AT first glance it appears a small thing of little significance. The Chronicle's Belgarum column has a story this week about a new graffiti 'artist' who has been leaving his or her tag on walls around the city. 'BANDS' has been appearing for several months around the place including under the railway bridge in Barfield Close and on the Hockley Viaduct.

Many people will shrug their shoulders and 'say, so what'? Graffiti has been an issue in towns and cities since the 1960s and 70s when shaven-headed youth felt the need to paint 'skins' or 'United' everywhere.

The Chronicle detests graffiti. It is a form of bullying that makes many older of vulnerable people feel insecure. They feel the streets are less safe when paint is daubed or sprayed close to their homes or where they walk. As well as its ugliness it is the thought that a talentless and unknown someone is openly breaking the law and getting away with it that disconcerts people, a menacing absence.

It needs to be tackled and stopped. There is truth in the assertion that clamping down on low-level crime such as this deters other more serious kinds of offending, making the streets safer for all.

As for whoever BANDS is, someone else has given their own interpretation of the handiwork. The word 'retard' has been scribbled next to it on the bridge in Barfield Close. It is hard to disagree.