Several homes in Norman Road had red paint thrown on them at around 2.30am on Wednesday 19th February, with a bed-and-breakfast being the main target of the attack, reports Marco Marcelline

Motor oil and red paint were splashed all over the fronts of homes in Norman Road

The police have been criticised for not showing up to inspect homes in Leyton that had been daubed in red paint and motor oil in an act of vandalism last week.

Several homes in Norman Road had red paint thrown on them at around 2.30am on Wednesday (19th February), with a bed-and-breakfast being the main target of the attack.

The Echo has seen footage captured by residents’ Ring cameras that show two hooded males carrying buckets and walking into front gardens.

The Metropolitan Police has said no arrests have yet been made though enquiries continue.

Erik, who preferred not to give his last name, told the Echo that the incident had left his terraced home with “extensive and costly” damage that would require a specialist to remove.

He says he first noticed something was wrong when he woke up for work at around 7am that morning. Spotting a note left at his door stating the bed-and-breakfast on his street was a “brothel”, he then saw the same message was spray painted on a campervan across the street and that his house had been vandalised.

Erik added: “Having lived in this neighbourhood for nearly five years, I feel confident in asserting that [the bed-and-breakfast] is not a brothel.”

The seven-room bed-and-breakfast did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by the Echo.

Erik said the Metropolitan Police had not personally visited the homes affected since he reported the incident. Stating he was “deeply disappointed”, he urged them to review the footage that he had on his Ring camera.

A spate of similar vandal attacks on homes and businesses across London and the rest of the country have been reported in recent years.

Two shops in Leytonstone High Road were daubed in red paint in May 2024, while a Thames Hospice charity shop in Reading, and a block of flats in Bradford were vandalised last year. Vandals in those incidents also spray painted “brothel” on the buildings.

Another attack targeting two properties in West Hampstead in December 2023 saw police state there was “no evidence” to suggest the homes were being used as brothels. None of the incidents have been proven to be linked.

The act of engaging in prostitution is legal, but owning or managing a brothel, and pimping, are illegal.

A spokesperson for the Met said: “Police were called at 07.07am on Wednesday (19th February) to reports of residential properties criminally damaged in Norman Road. At this early stage of the investigation, no arrests have been made. Enquiries continue.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or message @MetCC on X quoting CAD 1081/19FEB

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