Staff at Kingsteignton town council are fighting a daily battle with vandals who have been damaging public areas and daubing graffiti.

The latest incidents have forced the town council to remove benches from Oakford Lawn and close the History Garden at least until next spring.

Continuing anti-social behaviour has focused on Oakford Lawn, the Fountain and Clifford Park.

The ongoing problems are said to be down to just a few youths.

But the issues have been described as ‘relentless’.

Council staff have been working with police in a bid to stamp out the problems.

A state-of-the-art CCTV system is in place in all three locations and along Newton Road as far as Tesco.

The council is also being helped by Newton Abbot Security Trust which is helping looking at the high quality footage.

The Fountain has also been damaged in a recent spate of vandalism and has now been repaired.

Town clerk Carol Lakin said: ‘Graffiti is just rife.

‘Every day our caretakers are spending time cleaning it off and the substance used to remove it is not good for the benches and equipment.

‘These issues do tend to go in cycles but at the moment it is relentless.

‘It’s only a handful of youngsters causing the trouble.

‘But as soon as it’s cleared, it comes back.’

Previous incidents have involved graffiti on a bus shelter and spraying in the middle of the road which happened in September.

While the caretakers are taking time to clean up and make repairs to any damage, it is preventing them from carrying out other jobs around the town.

In 2019, the council replaced the skate ramp in Clifford Park but this has also been subjected to vandalism and graffiti.