DAVENTRY: Shopkeeper's fury at yobs and council

Shopkeeper's fury at yobs and council

Annoyed: Nalin Patel, owner of
the Best-One, is angry at the
state his shop has been left in.

A SHOP owner on a Daventry estate is 'annoyed' after his shop was vandalised with graffiti, which he says was then made worse by district council cleaners.

The Best-One shop in Tamar Square, The Grange, has been targeted twice by yobs in the last month who have splattered and sprayed paint all over the shutters and pavement outside.

Nalin Patel, who owns the shop, said: “I’ve been here for 23 years and this is the first time it’s happened.

“I feel really annoyed about it. Surely the parents of the people doing this must know about it?

“But I’m more annoyed with the council for not putting it right.”

According to Mr Patel, Daventry District Council came to help clean up the graffiti on the pavement, but made the situation worse by putting a chemical on the shutters which damaged them.

Not only was the pavement graffiti not cleaned up, white stains have now been left on the path.

Mr Patel said: “They weren’t supposed to touch the shutters and they have made a mess on the floor.

“They said they would come back and sort it out but I’ve not heard from them. This is not good for my business.”

Anne Smith is chairman of the Grange Residents Association which helps maintain the estate.

She said: “The council has let the estates run into disrepair. How can people be proud of the town when they can’t be proud of where they live?”

Adam Colton, police community support officer for the Grange, said: “This is not the only incident with paint.

“There has been a lot of juvenile nuisance on the estate.”

Daventry District Council said the cleaning spray may have splashed on the shutters during the first clean-up which did not meet its ‘usual high standards’.

Jo Gilford, corporate manager for public space at the council, added: “When the shop was targeted a second time and our contractors went to clean the pavement again, which was greatly improved, even the high-powered graffiti removal equipment was unable to remove all of the paint.”

http://www.daventrytoday.co.uk/news/Shopkeeper39s-fury-at-yobs-and.3255395.jp