‘Disrespectful’ anti-vax graffiti found on wall art created to celebrate key workers in Northampton

A ‘wall of thanks’ created on the side of a Northampton nightclub to celebrate the town’s key workers has been disrespectfully graffitied by anti-vaxxers.

Owners and staff at Roadmender, on the corner of Broad Street and Lady’s Lane, created the celebratory art on the side of the building in April last year, before any Covid-19 vaccines were in circulation.

The art was created so members of the public could write a message of thanks to key workers.

By the beginning of this year around 50 messages of gratitude had been added, including: ‘Stay safe mummy’ and ‘a debt we can never repay, we owe you everything’.

However this morning (January 12), a passer-by noticed anti-vax graffiti across the messages of thanks.

The on-looker said: “It’s a beautiful wall of thanks but this disgusting behaviour just feels like a smack in the face.

“People shouldn’t be refusing the vaccine if it is helping with the virus and people should not be impacting their views onto others.”

The owners of the venue painted over the graffiti as soon as they were alerted to it and have been left extremely frustrated by the 'unacceptable' actions.

Dave Norris, owner of Roadmender, said: “It’s awful, terrible and disrespectful, heartbreaking and totally unacceptable.

“This is to do with thanking people who have worked really hard. It has nothing to do with the vaccine.

“It’s a wall of thanks where people have thanked someone whether it’s a nurse, doctor or lorry driver.

“But this idiot and scumbag has graffitied all over the messages of thanks.

“I do not understand why they had to graffiti this wall rather than any other in the town, when this message has nothing to do with the vaccine.

“And ironically, the person who did it probably goes to a supermarket and their mum probably goes to the doctors where key workers are working hard.”

When the paint is dry, the owner plans to open it up to the public to allow them to write their messages of thanks once again.

David is also planning to go through the venue’s CCTV to find the culprit, in the hope that their face ‘goes viral’.

The director of Public Health Northamptonshire and the chief executive of Kettering General Hospital addressed ‘non-Covid believers’ at last week’s weekly press briefing and used the statistics within the county’s hospitals to reinforce the severity of the virus and the need for vaccinations to protect people, particularly those who are vulnerable.

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