A COLWALL woman's protest against the war in Iraq has drawn criticism from nearby residents.

Dicken Justice-Courier has painted multicoloured slogans and signs on the side of her house overlooking Colwall Station.

But locals say it is spoiling the look of the village.

The slogans, which are clearly visible from nearby houses and by passengers on trains passing through the station include CND symbols, a swastika and slogans such as: No Blood 4 Oil, Yanks Go Home and How Does It Feel To Kill?

Ms Justice-Courier was unrepentant. She said graffiti had been on her wall for a long time, but trees recently cut down by Network Rail had until now obscured them.

"Why on earth should I paint it over? It's my property and I will do what I want with it. If they have a problem, they should look the other way."

Audrey Kopsch, who lives on Station Drive, said the graffiti was unsightly.

"She'd have been better off putting it on a sheet and hanging it up. But it's her property, so I don't see how I can object," she said.

At the Colwall Park Hotel, reservations manager Virginia Piper said the graffiti had been a hot topic of conversation for guests and staff.

"The council has said there is nothing they can do," she said. "They can step in when you paint your house pink, why can't they step in here?"

A spokesman for Herefordshire Council confirmed there was no action that they could take about grafitti that was not obscene, overtly racist or overtly sexist, particularly as the house was not in a Conservation Area.

"This is one person expressing their view," she said, "However, if there were a great deal of complaints I am sure they council would look into it."