Graffiti has been daubed on a significant number of metal bollards along a road which has strong connections with the first world war.

Volunteers say they will remove the scrawling from the Road of Remembrance in Folkestone in time for next Sunday’s ceremony, marking the end of the First World War.

Town Sprucer Peter Phillips, whose team will soon get to work on the historic road, branded the vandalism “mindless”.

Permanently peppered with decorative poppies, the road was the route for most soldiers leaving barracks in Folkestone.

Mr Phillips said: “I think the people doing this are just blinkered and don’t understand the road’s significance, or what an importance time of year this is to remember the fallen.

“As for the rubbish down there, it is disgusting, I was there not long ago and it was infested with rats, about 30 of them, you can hear them scurrying.

“The council needs to spend some money on the road, it could look really good, it needs a few bins at least.

“I think the people doing this are just blinkered and don’t understand the road’s significance..." Town Sprucer Peter Phillips

"The graffiti is getting worse, it’s appearing everywhere, these vandals are destroying our district and it’s depressing.”

The stylized spray paintings, often placed by serious vandals to identify themselves, are a base form of graffiti.

The aim is for the vandal to get their work seen by as many people as possible, and so it often appears on busy thoroughfares and trains.

Mr Phillips believes a legal painting wall and educating children about the negative impact of illegal graffiti could help curb the escalating problem.

“The council needs to find a way to address this, maybe holding talks in schools could help,” he said.

Folkestone Town Council said although the Remembrance Sunday parade will not go down the Road of Remembrance, it is important all areas are maintained throughout the year.

A spokesman said: “I am sure that the district council will already be aware of the issue and dealing with it, but we will also (notify the authority)."

A Folkestone and Hythe District Council spokesman said: “We are not aware of any recent increase in graffiti on the Road of Remembrance.

“However, this area is occasionally targeted and when it is, we remove it or paint over it.

“We will certainly do this before the Remembrance Sunday services as well as giving the area an extra clean above the routine cleaning we already do.

“We are currently not considering a graffiti wall – often they lead to increased graffiti elsewhere."