London Boroughs Dominate UK’s Top Graffiti Hotspots as Property Cleanup Bills Climb

Millions of pounds of taxpayer money are being spent every year tackling vandalism across London, with capital boroughs bearing the brunt of the UK's graffiti crisis. That’s according to new Freedom of Information (FOI) data analysed by GTSE.co.uk, a leading trade suppliers retailer, which revealed a disparity in graffiti prevalence and how local authorities handle this vandalism.

The nationwide investigation, which analysed data from 214 local council areas, highlights that while regional locations like Canterbury and Edinburgh report high tagging levels, London dominates the UK rankings in overall volume and per-capita intensity.

London claims 7 of top 8 UK graffiti hotspots

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham crowned the list as the UK’s graffiti capital, registering 6,569 separate reports in 2025. This equates to nearly 3.5 reports for every 100 residents, leading the nation both for total volume and among the highest per-capita rate.

London authorities swept the top four spots nationwide, with Westminster, Camden, and Brent following directly behind Hammersmith & Fulham.

Top 10 UK Council Areas by Reported Graffiti Volume (for the past year, 2025)

1. London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, London: 6,569 reports (3.5 per 100 residents)

2. Westminster City Council, London: 5,290 reports (2.5 per 100 residents)

3. London Borough of Camden, London: 4,937 reports (2.3 per 100 residents)

4. Brent Council, London: 4,166 reports (1.2 per 100 residents)

5. Canterbury City Council, South East: 4,080 reports (2.5 per 100 residents)

6. Royal Borough of Greenwich, London: 3,760 reports (1.3 per 100 residents)

7. London Borough of Lambeth, London: 3,207 (1 per 100 residents)

8. Southwark Council, London: 3,095 (1 per 100 residents)

9. Edinburgh City Council, Scotland: 2,443 (0.5 per 100 residents)

10. Newcastle City Council, North East England: 2,359 (0.7 per 100 residents)

Surprising regional hotspots also emerged outside the capital. Canterbury City Council in Kent recorded 4,080 complaints, making it the fifth most defaced council area in the entire country, outranking major metropolitan cities like Edinburgh (2,443 complaints), Newcastle (2,359), and Bristol (2,279). Though these regional hotspots have a lower per-capita rate compared to the London-based top four councils.

Climbing council clean up budgets

Cleaning up public spaces is taking a significant bite out of local authority budgets. Southwark Council led overall annual expenditure, spending approximately £460,000 in 2025 on graffiti removal alone. This is expected to reach approximately £496,000 in 2026.

Meanwhile, several other local authorities are hiking their clean-up budgets for 2026 to cope with complaints. Camden Council is raising its cleaning budget from £374,650 to £392,858 (a £18,208 increase), while Westminster City Council has earmarked £281,000 for the coming year (a £12,000 increase).

Councils Act Fast To Remove Graffiti

The data reveals a slight divide in how quickly councils respond once graffiti is reported, though the vast majority aim and succeed in removing graffiti within specific guidelines set for offensive and non-offensive graffiti. 

General graffiti should ideally be removed within 28 days, which most London councils appear to meet. Offensive graffiti, which can include abusive wording, swearing and racist language for example, is often removed within 24-48 hours of a complaint. The majority of councils achieve this, with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands leading the nation for offensive tags, averaging a 4-hour turn-around. While London Borough of Haringey averages 17 hours for offensive tags and Westminster responds to offensive graffiti within 12 hours.

This swift removal of graffiti is important for local residents and businesses as it creates an eyesore in the local area, and is often offensive. However, not all graffiti is council responsibility. 

Mikey Callaghan, Trade Supplies Expert at GTSE.co.uk said,

“Finding fresh graffiti on your home, shopfront, or local park is deeply frustrating. However, many people will complain straight to the council, when in fact, London councils are only responsible for certain types of graffiti in certain areas.

“The way in which graffiti should be reported, will depend on where it is located. For graffiti on public property, you should contact your local council service, or report it via the Government portal. You can also use Fix My Street, to report local problems like graffiti, fly tipping or broken paving slabs.  

For private property, such as homes and small businesses, you can report it directly to the owner. If graffiti is on private property but it contains offensive, racist or hateful language councils have a responsibility to remove it and should prioritise cleaning within a reasonable timeframe. This removal should be free, regardless of who owns the property. 

“While councils are bound by strict budget pressures and must rightfully prioritise offensive hate speech, leaving general tags for up to four weeks puts an unfair burden on local communities. Beyond being an eyesore, when vandalism sits unaddressed on a wall for weeks, it sends a signal that an area isn't monitored, inviting further anti-social behavior.”

If you are unfortunate enough to need to remove graffiti yourself, Mikey recommends,

1) Act fast

Aerosol paints cure over time, so the sooner you start cleaning it, the easier it will be to lift. Ideally, aim to clean it within 24-48 hours.

2) Identify the surface material underneath

Porous surfaces (such as brick, stone and concrete) require heavy-duty solvent paint removers, stiff wire brushes, or pressure washing.

Non-porous surfaces (like metal, glass, plastics), can usually be wiped clean with specialised solvent cleaners. For these surfaces avoid harsh abrasives that might scratch the surface below.

3) Protect yourself

Don't skimp on personal protective equipment (PPE). Always wear heavy-duty work gloves and safety goggles when working with potent chemical paint strippers.

4) Apply, scrub and rinse

Select the right products and then apply, scrub and rinse it off. For most graffiti, a multipurpose product like our graffiti remover aerosol spray works well, tackling  a range of paint surfaces including, bricks, plastic, stonework, concrete and glass. This graffiti remover is also safe for use in confined areas without worrying about chemicals.

For large painted areas or particularly dried on graffiti, heavy duty removers may be needed, along with pressure washers. 

For further information on who is responsible for graffiti removal and how to approach it, visit GTSE’s quick guide to graffiti removal.