My Dog Sighs mural at Hilsea Lido is painted over with graffiti tag as suspect seen fleeing with paint roller

Officers were called out at 6.59am to reports of criminal damage at the Hilsea Lido where the mural was being painted over with graffiti.

The artwork, which replaced a previous mural by My Dog Sighs and city artist Fark from five years ago that had faded, features a watery blue background and two eyes with reflections of a person getting out of the pool. Now one of the eyes has been covered over by the tag DMOE.

Police said a white man in his mid to late 20s wearing a hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and carrying a paint roller was seen in the area at the time.

Facebook group Run-Walk-Local-Portsmouth, posted a picture of the damage on its page, with the message: ‘Some moron decided it was a good idea to deface this beautiful piece of art. We are fuming.’

My Dog Sighs painted one of the walls of the Hilsea Lido in a bid to bring cheer in the pandemic last August.

The wall is of the recently-built sea defences, put up by contractor Knights Brown, protecting the north of the city.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting 44210334719.

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