Virgin Media O2 joins forces with City of York Council to tackle vandalised cabinets

City of York Council has joined forces with Virgin Media O2 to tackle vandalised broadband cabinets in the area.

Through a new trial, Virgin Media O2 has committed to working directly with City of York council to repaint vandalised cabinets and bring them back to their original state.

It is the first deal of its kind Virgin Media O2 has done with a local authority to help tackle the issue. Throughout the six-month trial, the organisations will work together to restore cabinets across the city, where up to 200 cabinets are vandalised every year.

To kickstart the scheme, damaged cabinets are being repainted and new cabinet stickers will be applied, making it easier than ever for local people to report damaged or vandalised cabinets. It is anticipated this will help speed up incident reporting and reduce the number of cabinets that are vandalised.

Cllr Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change, at City of York Council, said: “We are really pleased to be able to join forces with Virgin Media O2. To be part of the first deal of its kind with them is important to us and it places us at the very forefront of tackling vandalism and graffiti.

“Graffiti is criminal damage and a selfish act which spoils the local environment for residents and visitors alike. We hope this sends a clear message that we will not tolerate this type of vandalism. Following the trial, we hope to roll this partnership out further and are already in constructive talks with several other companies.”

Paul Edwards, Director of Field Engineering & Operations at Virgin Media O2, said: “Through this innovative trial with City of York Council, we hope to make it faster and easier to remove graffiti from our on-street cabinets. Damage to our cabinets and equipment can cause customers to lose the vital services they rely on, so we’re committed to tackling this problem and keeping our customers connected.”

To report graffiti online visit: www.york.gov.uk/reportgraffiti or report it to Virgin Media O2 direct at 0330 333 0444. At the time of reporting, please provide as much detail about the location of the cabinets to help us locate them e.g street name, nearby shop or business.