Vandals have daubed historic Rochester Cathedral with graffiti this week.

“Teen horniness is not a crime” has been painted or sprayed on the west front of the place of worship in purple letters - and attempts to remove it have so far failed.

The cathedral’s Dean, the Very Rev Dr Mark Beach, said: “I am saddened and disappointed that somebody should want to deface such a splendid building which has been at the heart of this community for 1,400 years.

Dr Beach added that the scrawled graffiti was proving “stubborn” to erase.

A specialist architect is due to pay a visit to see what, if any, lasting damage had been done to the Victorian stonework.

Historian Bob Ratcliffe, president of the City of Rochester Society, said: “I feel very sad that somebody should feel inclined to do this.

“The cathedral has survived all these years without anything like this happening. It will probably be difficult to remove without damaging the fabric of the building.

"These days there are so many ways to get a message across, such as Facebook and Twitter. So why should somebody feel the need to do this to such a fine historic building?”

The police have been told about the vandalism.