A council is making the unusual move of offering a £500 cash reward to anyone who can help catch those responsible for covering loos in unsightly graffiti.

The toilets near the bus station in Folkestone were vandalised last weekend, with red, blue and black scribbles now covering the tiles and doors.

In a bid to find those responsible, Folkestone & Hythe District Council (FHDC) is offering a financial reward to anyone who gives useful information leading to a successful prosecution of those responsible.

The money will be shared if multiple people provide information.

Cabinet member for property management and grounds maintenance at the authority, Cllr John Collier (Con) described the vandalism as "disgraceful".

It comes after FHDC spent £20,000 on a major renovation project at the facilities in 2020.

Cllr Collier said: “The perpetrators should be ashamed of themselves.

“These toilets were closed for a number of years before we invested more than £20,000 into them back in 2019.

"We did that because residents told us how important it is to have these facilities at the bus station.”

Leader Cllr David Monk (Con) added that the loos are essential for those visiting the town centre.

“Having public toilets at the bus station is useful for all of us but there are people for whom this facility is essential and without which they cannot visit Folkestone.

"This selfish act wastes taxpayers’ money and will mean the toilets are out of action until they can be repaired."

The vandalism of the public toilets at the bus station is the latest in a series of public property destroyed across the district.

The public toilets in Lydd suffered fire damage last month and the toilets at New Romney and Cheriton were also subject to vandalism.

The council has taken the decision to shut the Cheriton and New Romney public toilets at 6pm now rather than the normal time of 10pm reduce the chance of vandalism.

The toilets by the bus station remain open.

Anyone with information on the vandalism in Folkestone should call police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/159094/22.

You can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete their online form.