Graffiti that says "Boris is Helch" on a blue bridge over the M4 has been removed.
Motorists travelling on the M4 north of Bristol will recognise the graffiti on a blue bridge over the M4, which appeared in 2019.
The bridge crosses the M4 and the slip road joining it from the M32 just north of Bristol.
Now, after two years, the graffiti has been removed by Network Rail. Staff used pressure washing, scrubbed with wire brushes and applied anti-graffiti paint on a number of railway sites in Bristol, Devon, Berkshire and west London including the blue bridge.
It is not known whether the Boris on the graffiti referred to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, or whether it reflects the urban dictionary meaning of the word "helch" as a combination of a "hiccup" and a "belch" or the shortening of the phrase "hell yes".
The word "Helch" started to appear on bridges and buildings in 2019, and journalists at MyLondon investigated, and spoke to someone who claimed to know who ‘Helch’ was.
They claimed Helch was an old school graffiti tagger who had suddenly, in middle-age, gone back to his youth and begun painting the name ‘Helch’ - which doesn’t have a meaning.
Whether or not they were painted by Helch him or herself is unclear, although the style was similar to Helch’s ‘work’ in west London. You can read more about the meaning behind the graffiti here.
Chris Pearce, from Network Rail, said: "Graffiti makes the railway look untidy for passengers and residents living alongside it. Our end goal is to make sure everybody using the railway feels safe and comfortable which is why it is important that the railway is a clean, welcoming environment.”
