Artist facing criminal charges over Shane Warne mural in Melbourne

A Melbourne artist who painted a mural of Shane Warne after the Aussie cricket legend's death says he is facing criminal charges for graffiti.

Jarrod Grech paid tribute to Warne last month with a mural of the King of Spin on a brick wall on Canning Street in Carlton.

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"In this portrait I tried to capture Shane's charisma and fun nature," Mr Grech wrote on Instagram.

"One of my fondest memories is playing cricket in primary school trying to bowl like Shane and Brett Lee.

"I hope I did your porcelain veneers proud brother. See you in the next life."

However Mr Grech has since revealed that police have informed him he is facing criminal charges for graffitiing the wall.

The artist told news.com that the wall borders an abandoned home, which is usually covered in graffiti by vandals.

“I usually cover the vandalism with my murals,” he said.

“I’ve never had a problem there, I’ve been painting that wall for years.”

Mr Grech said he told police he “put up murals to inspire kids, and to help stop them covering walls with vandalism”.

The mural of Warne covered one of American rapper DMX that Mr Grech painted previously.

“I think the police told the owner I was doing graffiti though, not that I was doing a mural,” he said.

Victoria Police said officers attended the property on March 30 to respond to reports of graffiti.

”They spoke to a man at that location and have since spoken to the owner of the premises who has provided a statement in the matter,” a police spokesperson said.

“An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”

Mr Grech said he is planning on fighting the charges.

Shane Warne honoured with UN conservation grant

Meanwhile, Shane Warne's animal conservation work for the United Nations is set to be honoured with a new grant.

At his state memorial service in Melbourne, Andrea Egan from the UN Development Programme revealed Warne joined its wildlife fund Lion's Share in 2021.

Ms Egan announced the Shane Warne conservation grant to memorialise the Spin King's work to protect wildlife and catalyse more action.

"His legacy extends beyond the hearts of the people here today," she told the crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"It lives on in the people of Sri Lanka promoting sea turtle conservation, in an all-female anti-poaching unit in South Africa and the team at the Byron Bay hospital, who were supported in the wake of the bushfires.

"All this work and more, Shane helped make possible.

"We are forever grateful for his championship and will work to honour his memory in a manner that does justice to the person he was."

Warne had a history of charity and community work, including through his disbanded foundation.

However his links to wildlife conservation were previously unknown.

The cricket legend died in Thailand of a suspected heart attack on March 4.

with AAP

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