00:01Residents in West Denton have been seeing unusual graffiti appear on walls with a string of comments about well-known
00:07celebrities.
00:07The writing includes names such as Lorraine Kelly, Danny Dyer, Rita Ora, Dermot O'Leary and Jade Thirlwall.
00:13Some messages contain lewd references while others are more surreal.
00:16One claims Jessie Jade does not donate 10p to charity at the checkout.
00:19Another says Jade Thirlwall buys makeup from Poundland.
00:22There's also a claim that Lorraine Kelly is barred from Wetherspoons for stealing cutlery.
00:26None of those claims have been established as fact.
00:29Newcastle City Council says its staff have been working to remove the graffiti but after some of it was painted
00:33over,
00:34the person responsible returned and added new phrases.
00:37Other messages mention Rita Ora having the Lidl Plus app,
00:40Alicia Dixon making Ben's cry at the hoppins and a reference to Bonnie Tyler's song Total Eclipse of the Heart.
00:45Another named Stacey Solomon and makes a comment about her giving Joe a sticker for helping with the dishes.
00:50Again, we must stress that none of these claims have been substantiated.
00:53The unusual messages have prompted speculation on social media about who could be responsible
00:57but there's no confirmed identification.
01:00Councillor Peter Lover, Newcastle City Council's Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Local Services,
01:04has condemned the graffiti and urged anyone with information to report it to Northumbria Police.
01:08The council says graffiti of this kind is unacceptable,
01:11damages public spaces and creates costs for taxpayers.
01:14It also says graffiti can amount to criminal damage with those responsible potentially facing police action.
01:19The council says it will continue removing the graffiti as quickly as possible as the investigation continues locally.
01:24Police have not publicly identified anyone as responsible for the writing and speculation online remains unconfirmed.
01:30Let's go to David.
01:30but you should keep saying it will be safe.
