Hundreds of graffiti reports have been logged across Hampshire, with some cases left unresolved for years.

The county council’s highways team received 240 reports of graffiti linked to roads, bridges and other highway structures between October 2024 and October 2025.

Responsibility for removing graffiti depends on where it appears. Graffiti on street name plates, litter bins and benches is handled by local borough and district councils.

The county council, however, is responsible for graffiti on underpasses, bridges, fences and railings along public highways.

They said the true number of reports may be higher, as some complaints are duplicated or relate to locations that are not part of the public highway.

A spokesperson said collecting accurate data is difficult because different services manage different assets and record reports in different ways.

They explained that all reports are assessed on a case-by-case basis and noted that some locations fall outside the highways service’s responsibility.

Although all graffiti is illegal, the council added its highways team prioritises the removal of offensive graffiti. As a result, other graffiti can remain in place for long periods.

One such case was reported anonymously in February 2024 through the FixMyStreet website.

The report raised concerns about graffiti in an underpass that had allegedly not been cleaned for more than seven years and had worsened due to what the complainant described as “local vandals”.

The complainant wrote: “Routine maintenance is now well overdue and this needs resolving. This needs a good pressure wash on the tilework to remove.”

Months later, the same report was updated to say the situation had deteriorated further, with more graffiti appearing and no sign of action being taken.

Another report, made in July 2025, highlighted graffiti on the Odiham Bypass bridge.

An anonymous resident warned that the problem was getting worse. As of December 12, 2025, the report remained open, with no work scheduled to remove the graffiti.

In a separate case in September 2025, a report was made about religious graffiti featuring an image of Jesus Christ and psalms in an underpass at the end of Baywood Close in Farnborough.

At the time, the council said the graffiti had been logged for removal as part of routine maintenance.