THE battle to keep on top of graffiti, which after all is another word for criminal damage, is never-ending.

The enormous expense to authorities in trying to eradicate the unsightly scrawls made by these morons at the taxpayers' expense is beyond comprehension.

Why on earth don't the courts order these culprits to clean their destructive works themselves, and pay compensation for the privilege to the owners of property affected?

This phenomenon is no longer a matter of innocent chalk on the pavement by children playing hopscotch, which of course disappears at the onset of rain, does not cause disfigurement of long standing, and is easy to remove.

It would seem that the public have for a few years now accepted this behaviour as the norm.

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.