Illegal fly-posting has cost £8,000 in fines over the past month.

Brighton and Hove City Council has launched a crackdown with enforcement teams tracking down offenders by visiting the advertised gigs.

The venue owners are then slapped with the fine but many venues are giving the officers details of the bands or event organisers, passing the penalty on to them.

Brighton indie rock band In Vitro were landed with a £200 fine on Tuesday after officers tracked down the five-piece group, whose fans fly-posted the city with adverts for a gig.

The officers' first job is to spoil the advertising by slapping cancelled notices across posters in an attempt to scupper events. They then visit the venue and issue the fines.

After talks, the council has warned In Vitro's they could face fines of £50 for every poster which had been illegally placed.

A spokesman for the band said: "We asked some fans to help poster for our forthcoming gig and apologise that some of them were overzealous with their enthusiasm.

"We love our city and care about its appearance. We were merely trying to advertise our gig and not do any long-lasting harm to the city or its image."

In Vitro play at the Pressure Point in Richmond Place, Brighton, on Monday, despite the plug being pulled on the band's advertising.

A council spokesman said: "This approach has worked really well, especially in the North Laine and central Brighton areas, where residents and traders wanted to see action taken.

"The council is willing to work with clubs, as we recognise they are part of the city's culture.

"However, the fly-posting has got out of hand and we want their help to sort out the problem."

People affected by the fines planto meet to discuss ways to advertise their events legally.

Barry Leigh, chairman of the North Laine Community Association, said: "There was considerable arrogance on behalf of some of the promoters that they had the right to trash everything.

"This is giving them the message 'We're terribly sorry but you haven't'."