A REWARD has been offered in an effort to catch vandals who defaced a town's war memorial.

The vandals used spray paint to daub graffiti on three sides of the memorial at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough.

The memorial bears the names of those who died fighting for their country and those who were killed in the town when it was bombarded from the sea.

A team from the borough council had to be sent to remove the graffiti.

A local businessman has offered a reward of £500 to help catch the vandals.

A spokesman for the local authority said: "Graffiti is an ongoing problem and a major nuisance to the council.

"All vandalism and graffiti of this sort costs the council taxpayers money - and that money could be better spent providing services and facilities for the good of everyone.