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A YOUTH worker at Haverhill has accused housing officials of being “petty” after being told she must remove art work which her children had created on the inside walls of her garage.

Karen Leatherman, of Rutland Court, says her sons Blake, 15, and Codey, 13, are very disappointed that the skateboarding “tags” which they had created on the garage walls have been ordered to go by Havebury Housing. She was particularly annoyed to be told that contractors might have to be brought in to remove the paintwork and that she would have to pay the bill.

Ms Leatherman works for Connections Suffolk, which is hoping to take over a shop on the Clements estate as a drop in centre for young people, and will devote one of the walls for them to create art work of this kind.

“I find the whole thing so petty I let my children do some painting in the garage during the summer holidays. They are skateboarders and they put their tags on the wall. Some of the neighbours complained that they had been starting fires, but when I explained to one that they were only smoking, she did not seem to mind.

“I knew where they were and what they were doing and I did not think they were doing any harm to anyone else. It kept them amused for a week, doing what they like to do. “It has been highlighted that Haverhill has one of the highest deprivation rates in Suffolk, yet they are worrying about my children. Since then I have been taking them into Cambridge three times a week because we have no skate park here.

“My sons could not believe it, they were quite proud of their work. I will have to paint over it, but I am not over the moon about it, there are far worse things going on in this town,” Ms Leatherman said. Mary Gibbons, Havebury
housing services manager for Haverhill, said staff had investigated after complaints of smoke coming from the garage.

Ms Leatherman was in breach of her lease on the garage by painting on the walls and Havebury had to protect its asset, so that It could be leased to someone else in future. “We have agreed that the walls can be painted over and would be happy to provide some guidance on how that can be achieved. We are trying to find the easiest option and want to work with our tenants. The Havebury Partnership will support community initiatives like the graffiti wall, in consultation with local residents, in the future,” Ms Gibbons said.