THE mystery appearance of dozens of names scrawled on a wall in Blackbird Leys has been puzzling and, in some cases, scaring people for the last week.

In Wednesday’s Oxford Mail we reported how volunteers at the Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground had discovered the names painted on an internal wall of a garage.

The garage had not been opened for more than two years, leaving volunteers wondering who the names belonged to.

It was believed they could have sat there unnoticed for decades.

One person who spotted his name in the story was 21-year-old Declan Davidson from Blackbird Leys.

He said: “It was so weird to see my name in the paper. I had no idea it was on this wall at all. It was like something from a Saw horror movie. I didn’t hang around in Blackbird Leys when I was younger as I went to school in Botley.

“And I don’t remember ever going to the adventure playground. But I did go to a playgroup which used to be there so it might have come from that.”

The garage is on the site of the newly-opened adventure playground behind the Blackbird Leys Community Centre.

It was home to a pre-school that closed years ago.

Pensioner Joyce Ellis phoned the Oxford Mail to say two of the names belonged to her granddaughters, Hayley and Stacey Coles, now aged 23 and 21.

The Kidlington grandmother said: “I was very surprised to see their names. But they used to go to the adventure playground when they were very small. It is very odd.”

But the key to the mystery appears to have been uncovered by Christine Manuell, who rang us from Garsington.

She said: “Two of the names belong to my son Dale, who is 22, and my nephew Ricky Whitman, who is now 23.

“They went to a toddler group near there, which I think must have been called the Moorbank Toddler Group.

“I remember there being something about paying £1 to put their name on a brick to raise money for a new building or garage.

“It must have been 20 years ago, it’s funny to see the names there now.”

Adventure playground volunteer Sue Price said: “It is lovely to know who they are. We are not sure what we are going to do with the space yet but we definitely won’t be rubbing out the names, that’s for sure.”