Great Western Coffee Shop

An increase in graffiti on inaccessible parts of the railway and rail bridges in Wiltshire has led to a project to teach young people about the dangers.

Network Rail's No Messin' scheme warns them of the risks they take with illegal graffiti on railway property. The company is helping teenagers in Trowbridge to create their own artwork and to improve their skatepark which is next to the town's railway station. It is hoped that it will also reduce the costs of cleaning up the vandalism.

Liz Heading, of Network Rail, said: "I saw it as a great opportunity to engage with those young people, to get them involved in making their skatepark nice and bright. It is also to help them learn about the dangers of graffiti along the railway and why they shouldn't be doing illegal graffiti. We want to help them produce a really nice piece of artwork, hopefully then they'll learn to respect their environment and will take ownership of this artwork and we won't get future spates of illegal graffiti."

The No Messin' campaign was launched nationally earlier this year. Its aim is to discourage children and young people from playing on the railways by involving them in activities like music and sport.

Network Rail's latest figures show there were more than 5,000 crimes involving young people across the UK in 2008, and it hopes its No Messin' scheme will reduce that number.