Shop assistants who say they're fed up with scrubbing graffiti off their walls on a weekly basis have backed a new campaign by The Argus.

New Look in Western Road, Brighton, is constantly targetted by vandals daubing it with spray paint.

At one time, staff had to clean if off every weekend. They are convinced it is driving customers away, costing them money.

The store has backed The Argus' latest campaign, Tell On Taggers, in the hope it will put a stop to the menace.

Manager Nicole Brooks said: "It is a big problem here. I think it is losing us customers because it's the first thing you see when you approach the shop and it must be putting some people off. We never reach our sales targets and I think the graffiti has something to do with that.

"It makes me angry because it seems so pointless. It gives the whole area a bad name and it seems Brighton is becoming renowned for it. I don't know why we are being targeted but we are sick of having to clean it off so frequently.

"The Argus campaign is a great idea. These people should be named and shamed so everybody knows who they are."

The campaign, launched last week, urges people to report offenders to the police and the city council.

It aims to encourage people to come forward and name prolific taggers.

One of the worst offenders defaced Brighton's historic Royal Pavilion with the signature Bozak, causing £3,000 of damage in five minutes.

Supporters of The Argus' stance have rallied to the cause and called for Home Secretary David Blunkett to extend to Brighton proposed incentives to crack down on criminal damage.

New Look has been given an anti-graffiti cleaning kit by the council.

City council enforcement officer Chris Dugan said: "Some properties along Western Road have become targets for taggers. New Look has had its side defaced on a regular basis.

"Officers from the city enforcement section have been to visit a number of businesses in the area to listen to traders' concerns.

"Graffiti not only costs businesses money, it can give an false impression an area is unsafe.

"Currently the council's enforcement team and Cityclean are taking a multi-agency approach to tackling this blight.

"We are sharing intelligence with other local agencies and confident we will catch the individuals concerned."

If you know who is responsible for any tags in Brighton and Hove or want to report illegal graffiti, call The Argus on 01273 544517 or the city council's specialist enforcement section on 01273 294514.

Monday December 08, 2003