news

In most British towns and cities, you can’t go far without seeing some strange spray-painted graffiti on the pavement… but what exactly do these roadside markings mean?

We’ve all seen the spray-painted graffiti, scratched numbers and mysterious symbols that constantly appear on sidewalks, but do you know who’s behind this mysterious language on the side of the road?

The mysterious codes on the side of the road have left many people baffled, with some believing the graffiti was used by thieves to mark potential targets, while American comedian Sarah Silverman wondered if a symbol she saw on the pavement was a crudely painted swastika.

In reality, however, you have nothing to worry about – the markings have been placed by workers responsible for installing and maintaining the vast network of pipes and wires beneath our feet, including water pipes, broadband cables, power lines and sewer pipes.

Richard Hayes, chief executive of the Institution of Highways Engineers, told The Sun Online: “These markings typically indicate the location of cables and pipes underground and are usually applied before the proposed work begins.

In 2016, it was widely reported that the graffiti may have been written by thieves who had developed a secret symbolic language to share information about homes they wanted to rob.

A pair of overlapping rectangles on the outside of a house is said to indicate that its occupants are nervous and afraid, while a simple cross indicates good purpose.

A cross in a circle meant that there was nothing inside worth stealing, and a group of five dots indicated that the house belonged to a wealthy owner.

However, the so-called “Da Pinci code” circulating on social media was soon deciphered by police, who provided a graphic explanation of what each graffiti on the sidewalk actually meant.

A South Worcestershire Police spokesman said: “There is no factual evidence to suggest the symbols are linked to any activity other than that which is entirely harmless and easily explained.”

Police have previously warned that similar chalk symbols could be used to mark properties vulnerable to theft by dogs.

However, it is more likely that these are also harmless road markings, applied with temporary chalk because workers want to finish them as quickly as possible.

Hayes said road workers now view chalk as “something of a relic.” The more durable oil-based chalks only come in yellow, which spoils the intricate color schemes of today’s street graffiti artists.

Former thieves also dismiss any code theory, arguing that since most thieves work alone, they are unlikely to want to give their rivals details of who they might rob.

Forensic experts say when thieves finally team up, they’re more likely to simply text or chat on the phone rather than risk scaring off a victim by leaving footprints on the sidewalk.

Often, different colors of paint represent different information: red represents electrical wires, yellow represents gas lines, and blue represents water.

Typically, orange information is associated with telecommunications cables (although some companies use green), and green refers to sewer pipes.

Meanwhile, the white paint typically used to mark excavation sites also serves as post-it notes in the road traffic world – the color can be used to remind people where to put items when a project is finished, or for general communication between workers.

When talking about gas pipelines, L/P, M/P or H/P stand for low pressure, medium pressure and high pressure respectively.

Meanwhile, R means the location of the cable or pipe in question was verified using radar, while P means the placement was based on passive electromagnetic inspections, a tool used to model underground systems.

Since there is no official dictionary of sidewalk painting terms, different contractors from different companies may use terms that differ slightly from the typical sidewalk painting jargon.

But anyway… if you see some strange paintings on the sidewalk near your house, you don’t have to worry about thieves or Nazis.