Vandals go on wrecking spree in Halesowen

Pink spray paint has been used to write 'SODA' across property in Ridgefield Road in Shell Corner.

Residents who reported the damage say the graffiti is appearing on an 'almost daily' basis.

It comes a year and a half after a similar spate of graffiti scarred the town.

The tag 'CNS' was sprayed over walls, garages and vehicles in Spies Lane and Howley Grange Road in 2013.

It contributed to the £200,000 spent by Dudley Council cleaning the area of graffiti over the past two years.

This week, Halesowen councillor Karen Shakespeare said she was disappointed to see graffiti return to town's streets.

She said: "We had a particularly bad spate right through Halesowen, we even had it just before the Halesowen in Bloom judges came and had to get it all cleaned up.

"I thought it had calmed down. I know we have worked very hard to cut down the amount of graffiti that is going up."

She added: "They don't care about the area. All the time and money that has gone into getting into a good condition - it is unwanted.

"There are no words for people who do this, it's a criminal act.

"I don't know what possesses these people to do it."

She said the only way to stamp out graffiti attacks was for the perpetrators to be caught in the act.

"Obviously the problem is the police catching them," Councillor Shakespeare said.

"Police catching them in the act is the biggest difficulty."

Parts of Brierley Hill and Wordsley have also been targeted by vandals in recent weeks.

Neighbourhood policing teams have said they will be increasing patrols in the area in a bid to put a stop to the problem.

Authorities in Dudley have had to spend big to combat the issue.

In the last 12 months, around £100,000 has been spent on removing graffiti following attacks on shops and properties. That came after £95,000 was paid from its coffers to repair damage between April 2013 and April 2014.