Girl, 5, ‘heartbroken’ after landlord said NHS rainbow tribute should be cleaned off

The girl drew the rainbow using chalk on a brick wall.

A five-year-old girl was forced to remove a rainbow tribute she had made to NHS workers after her mum’s landlord received a complaint.  

Sophie Gray and her mum Sam, 43, from Holbeach, Lincolnshire, drew the rainbow using chalk on to the brick wall of their property in Pearl Court on April 4.

The rainbow has become a symbol of gratitude to NHS staff and other frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

But Sam was left shocked after receiving a phone call from her estate agent telling her her landlord wanted the tribute removed.

They said the landlord had received a complaint from someone about the drawing which faces on to the street.

Sam said: ‘I’d only just woken up when the estate agent rang up.

‘She was really understanding. She said we understand why you’ve done it but we’ve got to act because the landlord has been in touch with us.

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‘It must be another neighbour who knows the landlord because I don’t even know who the landlord is and this is a quiet cul-de-sac.

‘You’ve got to be really sad to complain about a chalk drawing.’

She removed the drawing on April 22 much, whcih left her daughter Sophie upset.

She added: ‘It was just something to cheer up Sophie and cheer up the neighbours. I couldn’t understand why anyone would complain.

‘One of my neighbours said she couldn’t believe it either. Everyone else I’ve spoken to can’t believe it either.’

Sam received another phone call from the estate agents later in the day telling her landlord had decided the rainbow could stay on.

It was too late though, as she had already removed it.

Sam’s neighbour has told her she will let her and her daughter draw on her wall.

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