CAMPAIGNERS fear the city’s heritage is now being targeted by graffiti vandals.

Tags including “Taz”, “LABR”, “WAR+Z”, and a bomb type symbol have appeared around Brighton.

North Laine residents fear the unsightly scrawl has now appeared on landmarks in the city, including Brighton Dome and around the Royal Pavilion estate.

Dominic Smith said: “We are getting so sick of this vandal who is defacing so much private property and now the Pavilion estate.

“The same tag has appeared more than 30 times in just a few days. The new ones were done recently over the bank holiday weekend.

“They are all the way up New Road, Jubilee Street, and Kensington Road where there are CCTV cameras.”

Mr Smith said there are efforts by residents in North Laine to combat the scourge as soon as the tags appear.

Last month he reported graffiti at the Argus Lofts, which he says is a “weekly victim” of the taggers.

He added: “The ones like LABR and TAZ are everywhere in central Brighton, making our beautiful city look scruffy and putting off repeat tourists.”

Brighton and Hove City Council said: “Cuts to our funding means we have a limited amount to spend on graffiti removal and at present we are having to target hot spots and offensive graffiti.

“There’s no denying, the council and the city faces an escalating problem in trying to tackle graffiti and it’s extremely disheartening to see much-loved heritage icons such as the Madeira Terrace lift, which was targeted last week, defaced in this way.

“It is vandalism that ultimately costs time and money to put right.

“We are in the process of setting up a service where charities and community groups can access paint and supplies to help paint over graffiti and we will publish details on the council website as soon as they’ve been finalised.

“In the meantime, if people do want to get involved or have ideas about how we can work together to tackle this problem, please contact us.”

There are sites for graffiti artists to show off their skills in the city.

Brighton Dome’s head of PR Sue Bradburn said: “We have provided a dedicated section on our hoardings on New Road, which we encourage artists to use to display or flyer their artwork.”

To report problems or to get involved with graffiti cleaning projects email Cityclean@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

More information about council policies are available online, visit new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling-and-streets/streets/what-do-about-graffiti .