Graffiti has been daubed on doors and pavements in a quiet street.

Residents in Lavington Close, Ifield, Crawley woke up on Wednesday morning to a street scene of slogans, images and threatening and abusive words.

Thugs had sprayed so much paint that Crawley Borough Council teams were still working to remove the graffiti yesterday.

Resident Richard Symonds, who found a spray canister discarded just feet from his home, said: "We woke up to find we had been victim of a graffiti attack on garage doors and pavements. The place was coated.

"This area, which was once pleasant, now looks like a rundown urban city state - it's heartbreaking and disturbing."

Mr Symonds' garage door was coated with the words "Lee BNP". Mr Symonds stood in the 2004 election as an Independent candidate against the BNP.

He said: "It looks as though it's just kids who went on a spraying spree - no more sinister than that. I originally thought it might be a BNP response to some letters in the paper, especially by me, but I don't think it was. A swastika was on the pavement and the word Kill' was on a neighbour's garage.

"The word BNP' was all over the place, as was NF', for National Front.

"The BNP graffiti is new to this area. Of course there has been some trouble from bored groups of kids in the past but nothing as serious as this."

Council cabinet member Claire Denman, who lives in Ifield, said she was horrified by the vandalism. She added: "There haven't been any political tensions as far as I am aware."

Simon Darby, of the BNP, said: "We don't agree with graffiti. It's filthy and degrades a whole neighbourhood.

"If we had our way we would have a war on these graffiti artists."

A council spokesman said: "The council sent out its graffiti removal team to get rid of this offensive material as soon as it was reported to us.

"Graffiti like this blights the lives of residents and costs taxpayers money to clear up."