Graffiti criminals who cause thousands of pounds of damage in Hove are set to be targeted by police.

Officers will crack down on taggers who deface public property after an increase in the number of incidents reported recently.

The operation will centre on the Goldsmid area of Hove after residents and traders complained about the rising number of incidents.

Buildings and street furniture in Julian Road, Lyndhurst Road and Davigdor Road have become frequent targets for graffiti vandals.

Police want anyone who sees a graffiti attack happening to call them immediately.

PC Chris Mason, beat manager for Goldsmid ward, said: "In one case a business owner told us his property has been tagged more than 50 times in three years but he had only recently reported it to us.

"People have been painting over or removing graffiti without reporting it to us in the past because they think there is little that can be done.

"Antisocial crimes such as graffiti and vandalism are some of the main complaints we receive from residents.

"They give areas a neglected air, leading to a fear of crime, and this is something we are determined to address.

"If we are to catch the people responsible we need to know about these crimes as they take place, not a few days later.

"In many places there are CCTV cameras which can be used to help us identify the taggers. In others, we can install covert cameras to catch them."

He said the blitz would be run in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council, which has graffiti-busting packs available for residents or businesses to help them remove tags.

Hidden cameras have already proved a success in the city, where they have been used to successfully prosecute a number of graffiti criminals.

The most high profile was Richard Jay, nicknamed the Bouncing Doughnut after his distinctive tag, which appeared on walls all over Hove.

He was caught after police released pictures of him spraying a wall off Western Road.

We published the pictures and Jay was arrested at his flat in Holland Road, just 300 yards from Hove police station, after detectives appealed for help to identify him.

Jay was later fined £500 after pleading guilty to spraying the wall.

Goldsmid ward councillor Jenny Barnard-Langston said: "This is really good news.

"I have been writing to the police and council almost on a weekly basis trying to get something done.

"There seems to have been a rampage of graffiti vandalism on the street cabinets, phone and post boxes in Goldsmid.

"The council and the police have tended in the past to concentrate on tackling this anti-social crime in the city centre.

"I am pleased to see that they are now spreading the net into residential districts."