Police are hunting vandals who caused extensive damage to the Tyne and Wear Metro system on Christmas Day, daubing spray paint across five stations and along the track. The graffiti spree stretched from Jesmond to Gateshead, with Newcastle’s Haymarket station being the worst hit, where yellow, black and red paint was sprayed across walls and platform panelling.
Staff were called back from Christmas leave to scrub the graffiti off the newly-renovated station, which horrified shoppers and commuters. A large-scale clean-up operation was expected to conclude today, with Nexus, the Metro owner, hoping to have all graffiti removed from Haymarket by the afternoon.
A spokeswoman for Nexus described the incident as “horrendous”, noting that staff had to be pulled off leave and shifts changed to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible. She highlighted the significant cost and budget impact of the cleanup, emphasising that offensive material was prioritised for immediate removal.
Northumbria Police confirmed that between 5.20pm and 6.55pm on Christmas Day, offenders entered the Metro system at Haymarket station, damaging two CCTV cameras and spraying walls, before moving on to Jesmond station to carry out similar damage. An investigation is ongoing, with officers reviewing hours of CCTV footage to identify the culprits.
This is not the first time the Metro has been targeted by vandals. Two months ago, carriages were vandalised at South Hylton and St James’ Park stations, and in August, a train was sprayed after wooden pallets were placed on the track at Hadrian Road station, causing a delay.
Police are urging witnesses or anyone with information to contact them on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Nexus and police are determined to find those responsible for the Christmas Day vandalism.
