COUNCILLORS are to preparing to declare war on graffiti by banning the sale of spray paint and marker pens to under-16s in Swindon.

Coun Geraldine Robertson will forward a Liberal Democrat-backed motion to the Full Council meeting on Thursday, demanding the introduction of a new local law, which will make it illegal for shopkeepers to sell spray paint and marker pens to children under-16.

Coun Robertson (Lib Dem, Freshbrook and Grange Park) says it is the only way to stop the epidemic of graffiti spreading.

She said: "If there is one issue that residents contact me about, more than any other it's the 'tagging' of property, street signs and lamp-posts.

"It makes me very angry, as the council will initiate a clean-up one week, then the following week the tags or initials, as they're nicknamed, have been scribbled again."

But borough's hundreds of art students, meanwhile, have expressed worries that the scheme could hamper their studies.

Brian Britton, team leader of The Ridgeway School's art department said that although most GSCE students would not probably have the need to use spray paints for their exam studies, pupils in the graphics department and NVQ students often do. He called for school pupils to be made exempt.

He said: "For these students, a ban on buying spray paint and marker pens could be quite limiting. Perhaps there could be some special provision whereby children using them for their studies could get written consent from their parents."

The plan to rid the streets of garish designs and offensive messages would start with the setting up a working party of councillors, local police and members of youth crime services.

Its aim would be to adopt a code of conduct for local shops to agree not to sell materials such as spray paints and marker pens to under 16s, and for graffiti to be classed a prevalent offence, so that those convicted of it are made to clear it up through community service.

And they don't want to stop there Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Tonge, Member of Parliament for Richmond Park, and Shadow Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman on overseas develop-ment is to demand a nationwide ban on the sale of spray paints and marker pens to under-16s.

It is an issue that figures highly on the agenda of Coun Anne Baxter (Lib Dem, Eastcott).

She said: "Graffiti is a real nuisance to the residents I represent and it causes many elderly people to be scared to leave their homes.

"It seems an obvious solution, but if we can persuade local shop keepers not to sell spray paint or thick marker pens to young people, I believe it could stop the problem almost overnight."

The graffiti working party will also conduct research with Wiltshire Police to determine whether there are higher levels of crime in areas where graffiti is more prevalent. The outcome will then be used to determine the priority the police give to graffiti crimes.

The call for action comes after the Council and Probation Service teamed up to make young offenders scrub vandalised walls with a special graffiti-busting machine. Young offenders have already been out in Parks and Walcot ward using the machine to scrub badly vandalised walls in Lyndhurst Crescent.