In pictures: Lewes residents rally together to clean up anti-Semitic graffiti

Lewes residents rallied together in an act of defiance after shocking anti-Semitic graffiti was plastered around the town.
Lewes residents scrubbing off the graffiti on SaturdayLewes residents scrubbing off the graffiti on Saturday
Lewes residents scrubbing off the graffiti on Saturday

Images of the graffiti over a fence outside a resident’s house in The Avenue and on a wall of a house in Paddock Road went viral on Facebook and many disturbed residents expressed their shock and sadness. This sparked a clean-up operation by resident Elle Halley, who invited others to join her in scrubbing off the graffiti daubed over the fence on Saturday. Other residents also came together to remove the graffiti in Paddock Road. Elle, 41, said: “When you see a neighbour’s wall covered in graffiti like that, you think, we need to go and clean it up and put things right again. I just think it should be everybody’s immediate response – making it right and doing it with a smile.” Elle’s husband, Harry Leckstein, said about ten people came along to help on Saturday. The 49-year-old said: “It was the right thing to do and it was a great response from the community. We understand that tempers and passions are high in politics at the moment but that doesn’t give anybody the right to do this. It doesn’t represent our community and any community.” READ MORE: Councillor condemns anti-Semitic graffiti: 'It is not the kind of Lewes we know'