Bollards painted to resemble cigarettes have been spotted on street in Wiltshire with some locals brandishing them “disgusting”. Three bollards painted white and orange to replicate the look of a cigarette appeared in Hythe Road, Swindon.
The “cigarette” bollards have divided neighbours, with some finding it funny and others left fuming. Others have described it is a “brilliant idea” and thanking the anonymous artist for “making the area look a bit better”.
One person, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I probably would’ve preferred it not to be cigarettes if given the choice, but honestly it looks much better than it did when they were just bollards, so I’m all in favour of it.”
Another, who again declined to be named, said: “I hope they’re allowed to stay as they are. It’s a fun little joke and it isn’t harming anyone.
“I would love to see more stuff like this happen all over town and hope artists who want to use their time and resources are encouraged to do things like this rather than stopped.”
A third unnamed person said: “Very funny, to be honest. Hope they stay.” While another added: “Disgusting.” And other said: “Pathetic whose stupid idea was this?”
Others encouraged the person behind the cheeky transformation to keep their identity hidden.
A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: “We love street art in Swindon and this is certainly a very unusual choice of design.
“We don’t want to stub out the flame of this artist’s creativity, but the artwork obviously doesn’t align with the efforts of our Public Health team to get people to quit smoking.
“We very much hope that passers-by who have kicked the habit don’t develop old cravings, but, if they do, we’d encourage them and any other smokers to visit the Council’s website and search ‘Stop Smoking Services’ for a range of advice and support.”
