Skewen’s new Bonnie Tyler mural was pelted with eggs on Tuesday night, less than a week after the artist put down his brushes.
Coedffranc Town Council, which commissioned the wall at the Memorial Hall in Skewen Park, said a group of young people threw eggs at it on the evening of Tuesday 3 November, then went on to kick doors around the building while the hall was in use.
The police were called. The council said the incident was caught on its CCTV and the footage has been handed to South Wales Police.
It said it was “very disappointed” to be reporting what it called a further incident of antisocial behaviour at the park.
The mural had only just gone up. Artist Jenks, Steve Jenkins, took five days to paint it, with half of her face in colour and half in black and white, the park’s fields behind her and a dark heart in the sky, and Swansea Bay News revealed the finished wall on Tuesday.
The council said the mural “has been warmly received by the community”, and that the group’s behaviour had caused “significant disturbance and distress to those using the hall at the time”.
South Wales Police said the report came in shortly before 7pm and those involved had left before officers arrived. “CCTV is currently under review as officers work to identify suspects,” a spokesperson for the force said.
The council has asked residents not to speculate or share names, images or videos on social media, “as this could interfere with the police’s enquiries”.
Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or report it online.
The council said the park and the hall “are for everyone to enjoy”, and thanked the community for its continued support. It said it would share any update it could once the matter had been dealt with.
The council has not said whether the eggs left any lasting mark on the paintwork.
Bonnie Tyler and Skewen: the village she always called home
She was born Gaynor Hopkins in the village in 1951 and died in hospital in Portugal on 8 July, aged 75. After her funeral at Swansea Minster in August, the cortege came home through Skewen past streets lined with people.
The mural was the council’s memorial to her, and Jenks said he had been “honoured and very privileged” to be asked to paint it.
It is the second of his walls to run into trouble this year. His Brunel mural in Briton Ferry was painted over in July after the building’s owner objected.
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