‘Brexit is based on lies’: Elderly woman with walking stick unmasked as anti-Brexit vandal A 71-year-old widow was revealed as the perpetrator of anti-Brexit vandalism across her local area

A 71-year-old retired teacher has admitted responsibility for writing hundreds of anti-Brexit messages on walls across Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Hazel Jones was unmasked after being filmed writing the message “Brexit is based on lies. Reject it.” on a wall outside a local grammar school on 2 August.

In an interview with The Times, Ms Jones admitted that she had been leaving the messages across the town since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

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Imminent Brexit catastrophe

She said: “We all have to do our bit and I think it’s very important that people are made aware of the imminent catastrophe that we will be faced with if Brexit goes through.

“My generation has fouled up the prospects of younger people, so it’s my grandchildren that I’m doing it for.”

Ms Jones, who is a widow, says she usually tends “to get up early and write when I’m on my way into town or going to the shops.”

She added: “Had I known I was being filmed I would have dressed up a bit more.”

The retired teacher says she will likely end her vandalism spree after being caught on camera, adding: “I suppose the game is up now, I can’t keep on doing it any more.”

Ms Jones said the messages were written in chalk that washed off in the rain, adding: “It really never occurred to me that it was an offence.”

Lib Dem voter

Ms Jones says she was a lifelong Labour voter, but now supports the Liberal Democrats because of their promise of a second Brexit referendum.



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The video was filmed by Wakefield local Carla Petts, who explained that she had seen the messages before but “thought it must be some youths writing it.”

Facebook users largely praised the “feisty” Ms Jones, with one writing: “I like her style ask her if she fancies going taggin next week I know a few walls.”