New walls specifically for graffiti were unveiled in Chippenham on Tuesday after police and councillors teamed up to provide a large-scale easel for street artists.

Organisers hope the white-washed walls, under the Gladstone Road Bridge, will reduce ‘tagging’ in the town centre.

The six-month pilot project, championed by the town’s night-time economy group, was taken to the area board by Chippenham police.

Artist Sonic, 30, who now lives in Chippenham after spending seven years on the streets, was the first to spray a design on the wall.

He said: “I like to do art where people will have a chance to see it, rather than it just being in a sketch book.

“I’ve always been drawing. When I was living in a tent and it was raining too much to go out, I’d light some candles and sit there and draw. I think this is a good idea because you’re not going to get arrested. People are worried that you might do a piece of artwork, and then come back and see someone has sprayed all over it, but that’s the way it is and hopefully people will respect the work others do.”

Community beat manager PC Rachel Webb said she hoped the wall would cut down the amount of graffiti seen in the town centre, including the often-seen tags ‘Wore’ and ‘Nero’.

She said: “This is a very welcome project. We’ve worked with the local young people to find out how we can sort out the issues of graffiti in the town centre, which everyone can agree is ugly and frustrating.”

Police from the town’s station spent a day white-washing the walls.

Coun Peter Hutton, of the night-time economy group, said: “This is one of a number of initiatives we’ve implemented, including the street pastor scheme.

“We’re going to continue to monitor the wall and see what happens. The aim is to bring graffiti into one area by using the street art wall rather than have it sprayed around our town.”

Coun Desna Allen, who chairs the area board, said she hoped people from around the town would visit the wall. She said: “We wanted to work with young people, rather than just say ‘you can’t do this’ and ‘you can’t do that’.

“In a space like this, street art can actively flourish, and no one has to be worried about being moved on or arrested for their work.”