THE Mayor of Guisborough, Coun Bill Clarke, has called for vandals responsible for damaging one of the town's beauty spots to be hauled before the courts.

Market Town Initiative members, town councillors and residents were delighted with the recent £70,000 facelift at the Bakehouse Square beck side area, which included new flagstones, cobbles and places to sit to enjoy the serenity of the area.

But joy turned to anger last week when vandals got to work with black permanent markers, covering the paving and seating with graffiti.

The graffiti, believed to have been written by a gang of teenage girls, infuriated Coun Anne Franklin, who had campaigned for 18 years to get the area cleaned and tidied up.

Coun Franklin said: "I am very upset about it and I've had numerous calls from people saying how disgusted they are.

"I can't understand why, when we are trying to do something for the town, we have people like this who are spoiling it for everyone else.

"They don't realise how much it costs to install these things and how much they cost to repair."

The money for the original project came from the Market Town Initiative fund and Coun Franklin said she would like to see the vandals caught and made to pay the cost of cleaning the damage.

The Clean and Green team from Redcar and Cleveland Council's area management department cleaned up the area over two days, using a high-power jet and a baking soda mixture.

Coun Franklin said their response and efforts had been "absolutely marvellous".

The mayor warned that this and any further acts of mindless anti-social behaviour would be met with the heaviest and most efficient action, in close co-operation with Cleveland police and through the law courts.

The incident has been reported to the police and is being treated as a criminal offence.

WPC Jackie Fieldhouse from Guisborough Police said inquiries were ongoing and a number of people were being spoken to in connection with the damage.

She said: "In general we don't have much of a problem with graffiti in Guisborough, but the damage caused here was quite extensive and I would like to get to the bottom of it."

Anyone with information is urged to contact PC Fieldhouse on 01642 302026. Information will be treated confidentially.