I FULLY support the right to public protest – and I get it that sometimes you have to push the boundaries.

It’s nothing new. The tactics of the Suffragettes, in campaigning for women’s rights in the early 1900s, were often less than palatable. Attacks on property were commonplace. Their belief was “the end justifies the means”.

But protestors need to know when their point is made and when it’s time to stop. If not, any public support they may have evaporates.

Of course that argument presumes that the people behind the protests really are setting out to achieve something. Or are they are just mindless vandals with nothing better to do with their time?

County Hall in Taunton has been daubed with red paint for the FOURTH time. The vandalism is thought to be linked to a building in Bristol which Somerset Council owns and rents to a company called Elbit Systems UK.

County Gazette columnist Clinton Rogers.County Gazette columnist Clinton Rogers. (Image: Supplied)

The protestors claim the company has links to the government in Israel. The company says it supplies the British military.

My point is that the first attack attracted the media attention the protestors wanted. The story got TV, radio and print and online coverage. It even led to the council publicly stating it is “exploring legal routes of eviction... or selling the property”.

So you might have thought the protestors would be saying: “Job done. Result.” But no, instead they go back and do it three more times. To what end? What more do they want?

So far the clean up operation has cost £20,000 – that’s your money and mine. Now the council has to get the cleaners back again.

A council spokesperson told me this week: “While we respect the right of individuals and groups to protest, we strongly condemn this style of protest, damaging a Grade II listed public building.” 

My thoughts exactly!

And while I’m on this particular rant – is it my imagination or do we have more graffiti than ever in our town centres these days? Are the authorities just turning a blind eye to it?

It is a blight on our communities that should be treated seriously.

I have a thought. Once we find out who is behind the attacks, we go to their houses with aerosol cans and just leave them with the message: “There you go - how do you like it!”