SHOP owners and the council face bills of thousands of pounds after one of Brighton's worst weekends for vandalism.

Armed with spray paints, graffiti "artists" daubed walls and windows in The Lanes, Middle Street and Southover Street areas.

At The Level, a council spokesman put the damage at more than £5,000. Kiosks, bridges and an empty swimming pool were defaced.

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Meanwhile, shop keepers in Sydney Street and Kensington Gardens are having to replace more than a dozen windows scored and scratched by glass cutters on Saturday night.

Today traders were asking why CCTV cameras installed in North Laine to deter crime did not pick up the attackers.

Paul Carmody, who runs Brighton Books, in Kensington Gardens, will have to pay £2,000 to replace his main shop window.

He said: "I can't afford it but it is going to have to be replaced. This is the second time in a year vandals have marked my windows."

Other businesses whose windows were damaged include Clippers hairstylists, in Sydney Street, and Food for Thought, in Kensington Gardens.

Sandpiper Books, also in Kensington Gardens, escaped on Saturday, but its windows were damaged in a similar attack last month.

Police say it is impossible for cameras to be pointing in all directions at once but all the relevant footage will be searched to see if the vandals can be identified.

Every wall, door and sign in The Level was covered in paint in an attack late on Friday and early on Saturday.

Kiosk owner Christine Ford said: "My husband painted our walls only two weeks ago.

"The Level is often the busiest park in town and lots of families with young children use it. It's just not fair."

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