HUNDREDS of new graffiti tags are appearing all over Haydon Wick and Greenmeadow.

Police have identified the main tags believed to belong to teenage gangs and are hoping Adver readers can help identify the culprits.

The problem costs Swindon around £100,000 a year, and the police are hoping this will encourage the public to shop the taggers.

The two main tags belong to the HWE gang Heavy Words Exploded- and CTB the Crazy Tagging B******S.

Others are DOZE, NOWZ, ASK and FEEF.

They have been sprayed in subways, bus shelters and on walls and road signs.

Swindon Council has stepped up the fight to clear away the mess and subways are regularly repainted.

Police believe that the taggers, believed to be between 13 and 16 , see this as a graffiti war.

Although it was only re-sprayed last week, the Bluebells Path subway in Haydon Wick is now covered with fresh scrawls.

One says: "Da streets are ourz," while another reads: "Your're 2 late I've gone."

The problem has got so bad in another subway, Rushmere Park, that police are calling a meeting with residents to find a solution.

The subway is just yards from homes but any attempts to question the offenders are met with a hail of abuse.

In other areas, youngsters have turned subways into haunts for underage drinking. One option to tackle the problem is to close the subway altogether.

Police have also suggested opening a graffiti wall, where genuine artists could create murals.

But this is unlikely to appeal to taggers who use graffiti to signal their territory.

One new tactic employed by community beat officer WPC Gail Ballamy is to ask art teachers at schools if they recognise the tags.

She is also hoping teachers will recognise the designs from doodles on pupils' exercise books.

Graffiti not only costs the tax-payer but also diminishes the quality of life, she said.

Culprits face being charged with criminal damage.

"In the case of the Rushmore Path subway, some young children have asked them to stop and have been verbally abused," she said.

"Someone knows who these people are. People don't have to leave their names if they don't want to.

"I would also ask residents to keep a log of problems, listing times and descriptions of offenders."

Call the police on 01793 528111.