A graffiti vandal has spray-painted a signature on nearly every building in a city centre street.

The mystery 'signature'

The name - or 'tag' - which is often dated '2004', or '04', has been blighting houses and offices in St Thomas Street, Oxford.

It has also been seen around the former Morrells Brewery site, in the same street, where Kingerlee is building 79 new flats.

Oxford City council's cleansing department removed the graffiti yesterday as part of a major crackdown on antisocial behaviour.

Carfax city councillor Paul Sargent said graffiti created an environment where crime, and fear of crime, thrived.

He said: "Graffiti raises people's fear of crime and you have to remove it straight away.

"If you don't look after a place, by association you don't look after the people that live there."

Mr Sargent said 'tagging' deeply upset residents living nearby.

He added: "Every now and then you get one person who becomes prolific. If you are living in one of those areas where graffiti is daubed on your wall or front door all the time it brings the whole area down.

"As soon as you let one person get away with it, it attracts others."

Kingerlee construction manager Glinn Biggins said the graffiti was putting off potential buyers.

He said: "It doesn't give the right impression to see that kind of thing appearing. We are keen to get it off. All we can do is ring up the council and get it removed as quickly as possible."

Resident Muriel Vincent, of Jackson Cole House, in St Thomas Street, said she had seen graffiti vandals in action.

Mrs Vincent said: "I have stood at my window and watched them. We have been getting some rough kids down here. It is much better now it is cleaned up."

The council spends about £30,000 a year cleaning graffiti from walls, plus the cost of employee time.

But it is only allowed to scrub graffiti from public buildings. The council's cleansing department has to be given permission to remove it from non-council property by the landowner.

Graffiti can be reported to the council on 0800 783 1957.

The council spent up to £3,000 last year just removing the tag 'Pure'.