Graffiti has been scrawled across a city just days after residents and council workers scrubbed off more than 100 tags.

A spate of vandalism has seen the likes of Aldi and the old the Adscene building in Wincheap, Canterbury targeted by yobs armed with spray cans.

In an effort to catch the culprits, the council has issued an appeal for residents to come forward should they recognise the style of graffiti or tags.

The fresh and unsightly vandalism comes after the authority introduced a team of enforcement officers dedicated to catching nuisance offenders, getting rid of spray paint and working with others to do the same.

And in recent weeks, the council has blitzed parts of Wincheap in a bid to remove as much graffiti as possible.

But despite its best efforts, the taggers have been at it again.

In what is a constant battle to keep the city looking clean, the council hopes the introduction of the enforcement team is a step in the right direction.

But Cllr Nick Eden-Green believes the authority has let the growing graffiti problem spiral into a "truly dreadful state" and stresses that action has come too late.

"The council has promised, on several previous occasions, to tackle the graffiti problem but each time they have failed to do so," he said.

"Now they have a lot of catching up to do.

"And, even worse, new tags have appeared within days of walls being cleaned.

"The council needs to clamp down on shops selling cheap spray paint to underage children, and tackle new graffiti immediately, not let it stay in place which is an encouragement to others.

"They need to work more closely with the police to identify individuals and really scrutinise CCTV evidence, and promote murals and street art instead of graffiti."

Figures from 2019 show the council spent £66,000 on removal costs throughout the year as they responded to 2,016 records of graffiti across the district.

Cllr Eden-Green added: "The council has allowed our district to get into a truly dreadful state. We wish those well who are now set to tackle it but we have been promised these initiatives before."

Anyone who may know the culprits behind the recent graffiti should email graffiti@canterbury.gov.uk.

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