Two men were arrested after reports of people defacing an underpass with graffiti in Canterbury.

Police says officers were called to the underpass in St George’s Street at around 3am on Wednesday December 1, after Canterbury council CCTV operatives spotted a group of people causing damage.

Two men in aged in their twenties were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage. One of them, a 22-year-old from Canterbury, was also arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine.

Property searches were also carried as part of the investigation, and both men have been released on bail while inquiries continue.

Inspector Guy Thompson said: "Graffiti blights communities. It not only increases the fear of crime but costs councils and property owners a great deal of money to remove. We will not hesitate in taking action against those who damage property in our neighbourhood."

Lead councillor for enforcement at Canterbury City Council, Cllr Ashley Clark, said: "The quick thinking officers in our CCTV room at 2.50am were swift to identify these individuals and direct the police to make two arrests, so this is a great example of the two organisations working together with very positive and immediate results.

"Our graffiti cleaning team was then out later the same day cleaning this mess off using, of course, taxpayers' money to do so. The money would be far better spent on improving the quality of life for all our residents and it's highly frustrating that we should have to use our scant resources to remove this mindless criminal scrawling that blights our district.

"Once again this case underlines the contribution that CCTV can make in the prevention and detection of crime."