FARNHAM Town Council says it has a name to give police after a spree of graffiti in the town has cost the authority thousands of pounds and left residents angry.

Council clerk Iain Lynch said: “There is one name that will be passed on to the police. We will push for criminal prosecution.

“It is completely unacceptable that the town is being blighted in this way.”

The threat comes after resident Peter Cowan sent a heated email to councillors and South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt.

In it he demanded action, claiming the town was being targeted “by those intent on disfiguring our homes, streets and historic buildings.”

He said: “Surely, as residents and local tax payers, we deserve more.

“We at least should be made aware of what steps we can legally take and what actions can be expected from our local representatives, MP, police etc. The situation is rapidly deteriorating and Farnham – previously proud of its Britain in Bloom-winning image – is falling into the gutter.”

Mr Lynch said there had been “a significant increase” in graffiti incidents over the past few weeks.

He also said the town council was responsible for the clean- up of public or council property and allocates £7,200 a year to remove graffiti.

He added a private company used by the council to remove graffiti charged about £600 a time.

But if graffiti appears on private property or a business’ premises, it is the owners’ responsibility to get it cleaned.

A Surrey Police spokesperson said: “The local team is aware of an increased amount of graffiti appearing in the Farnham area and has been gathering intelligence to establish who is responsible for it.

“To assist us with this, we would urge anyone who has suffered any criminal damage to report it to the police via our website or social media.

“This will allow us to build a picture of when and where it is happening so we can target our patrols to be in the right area at the right time.

“Should anyone come across someone spraying graffiti we would urge them not attempt to deal with it themselves but to dial 999 and report a crime in progress.

“If anyone has information about who is responsible for any graffiti, this can be reported via our website www.surrey.police.uk or social media accounts, or via Crimestoppers or Fearless anonymously.”