MORE than 100 pieces of graffiti have been cleaned up since the new year in York, according to the city council's street scene team.

The work has been carried out as part of a month-long drive to make the city feel a safer place through environmental improvements.

The council's street scene teams have removed graffiti from council properties in 16 of the 22 wards in the city.

The focus over the last few weeks has been on top of the regular day-to-day removal work that is ongoing throughout the year in the continued fight against graffiti vandals.

Terry Collins, director of Neighbourhood Services at City of York Council, said graffiti had been shown to increase residents' fear of crime in their neighbourhood.

He said: "Although it is not possible to remove every piece of graffiti or to ensure that surfaces remain graffiti-free forever, our team has been working hard to significantly reduce the size and significance of the problem across the city.

"The council's street environment team is also working closely with private landowners and utility companies to persuade them to get graffiti removed from their properties and to help them put a stop to it."

As reported recently in The Press, the council has urged residents who recognise graffiti tags or spot vandalism to phone its York Pride Action Line on 01904 551551.

Meanwhile, CCTV cameras are being used in a joint blitz by the council and the police on graffiti vandals after an increase in the number of incidents in the city centre in recent weeks.

Andrew Waller, the council's executive member for Neighbourhood Services, said it was important to adopt a zero tolerance approach to graffiti.