Vandals daubed red paint and motor oil on several homes along Chingford Road in two separate attacks which mirror incidents seen in Leyton and Leytonstone last month, reports Marco Marcelline

Several homes were daubed in red paint on Chingford Road in Walthamstow last week and yesterday

Several Walthamstow residents have expressed alarm after they became the latest victims of vandals who are daubing homes across the borough in red paint, motor oil and “brothel” graffiti.

Attacks on Chingford Road homes in the early hours of Thursday (13th March) and Tuesday (18th March) come after identical incidents in Leyton and Leytonstone in February that left residents there shaken.

On both days, vandals splashed red paint and motor oil on several homes along Chingford Road before putting handwritten notes through letterboxes that allege a house on their street is a brothel.

Neighbours that were struck by the paint include elderly people and families with small children.

Hannah, who preferred not to share her surname, says she first became aware of what had happened when she was attending to her young daughter at 5am yesterday, stating: “I heard something come through the door which I thought was odd because it couldn’t have been mail at that time.”

Her husband then saw red paint had been splashed on their new home, which they’d moved into in February.

Hannah told the Echo: “When I saw [the paint], I just cried. We thought we were so lucky when we weren’t one of the homes affected on Thursday. I’m at a loss. People on this street are really upset. My neighbour’s child thought the red paint was blood.”

She said fixing the damage to her front door, windows, and front patio will leave her family out of pocket due to high claimant fees charged by her insurance company.

Waltham Forest Council workers jet washed some of the homes yesterday, though some households like Hannah’s are still waiting. She however added that she had been touched by “lovely” offers of help from concerned locals.

The Metropolitan Police closed Hannah’s case shortly after she reported it yesterday, citing a lack of any available CCTV footage that identified vandals’ faces.

Cops were previously criticised for not attending homes that were targeted in Leytonstone last month. Footage captured by residents’ Ring cameras on 19th February showed two hooded males carrying buckets and walking into front gardens.

There is no evidence that any of the homes that have been targeted in any of the attacks are brothels.

Identical 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.

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

A spokesperson from the Met said: “We are aware of a number of incidents whereby addresses in the area have been criminally damaged with red paint in the last month. These incidents are being investigated by the local Safer Neighbourhoods Team to ensure all investigative leads are explored and support is provided to the victims of these incidents.

“At this stage there has been no arrest and enquiries into the circumstances continue.”

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

Have you been affected by these incidents or have any information to share? Please get in touch: [email protected]

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