A reward scheme for identifying graffiti taggers has been branded a "waste of time" after it emerged the bounty for informants has been awarded just once in three years.

Canterbury City Council encourages people to report those defacing buildings in the district, but admits the number of people who have actually received the £500 reward in return is low.

City councillor Nick Eden-Green says the incentive programme has failed.

The Liberal Democrat said: "It’s a waste of time. If it was going to be successful it would have been successful by now.

"With only one person being rewarded in three years, obviously it’s not effective and I think this is because of two reasons.

"It’s almost impossible for people to gather information as to who may or may not be doing graffiti and there’s also the possibility of fear of reprisals.

"I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable photographing somebody doing graffiti out of fear that they may turn their spray cans on me, or worse."

It was the representative for Wincheap himself who proposed the scheme back in 2019.

He now argues that not enough it being done to combat graffiti and the council should take a more proactive approach by banning stores from selling cheap spray paint and ensuring that surfaces are coated with graffiti-proof plastic.

"We should also be encouraging genuine graffiti artists by giving them places to do their work," he suggested.

"If done in the right way, street art can be a very effective way of actually making places look nicer – Wincheap subway is a good example of this."

His views were echoed by Labour city councillor Mel Dawkins, who says legal street art has its place, with murals "bringing people together" and "making places colourful and special".

But she disagreed with the cash incentive scheme, arguing it could create a "spying-on-each-other culture".

While the scheme does not appear to be particularly effective at preventing vandalism, the local authority maintains that public surveillance equipment has more potential to work.

Council spokesman Rob Davies said: "With the increasing number of cameras available – council owned, private cameras on shops and homes, and cameras fitted as part of front doorbell systems – there is now more opportunity for offenders to get caught in the act.

"Our graffiti team is dedicated to investigating offences and evidence provided to us to ensure those who commit criminal damage are held to account."

"We all want the same thing, which is a safe and clean environment for all to enjoy."

It is not known how many people have unsuccessfully applied for the money having provided information that was not deemed useful.

But the council did reveal that following a recent public appeal for information on the tagger Bambi47, they have received tips that officers are currently looking into.

The graffiti symbol has been recorded 71 times across the district and authorities are trying to track down a purple-haired woman.

The graffiti reward scheme remains live and information can be supplied in confidence by emailing graffiti@canterbury.gov.uk or contacting Crimestoppers.