They have left their mark on almost every corner of the city.

Artless daubings in garish paint drag down property values and create an air of neglect in even the most splendid of Brighton and Hove's squares.

Thousands of pounds is spent every year cleaning up after the vandals, hell-bent on peppering the city with these scrawled obscenities.

But almost every graffiti vandal leaves his signature - or tag - at the scene of the crime.

Council officers and police have been granted some powers to track down the criminals who hide behind these cryptic call signs.

School books of suspects can be checked for doodles approximating to the handiwork of specific artists.

Secret cameras scan the streets. Covert guards patrol hot spots.

But nothing will help win the war on taggers more than the eyes of the public.

The BOZAK tag has been found across the city centre and has been scrubbed off the Royal Pavilion on several occasions, once causing more than £3,000 of damage in five minutes.

KOPPA has appeared down the full length of Lewes Road and near the seafront.

A database of every date and location it appears is being compiled.

KIDS is thought to be the calling card of someone living in East Brighton with a connection to the FUK
tagger.

ALEAS has tagged about 12 signatures around the north of Brighton train
station and has been scrawled a further 12 times on Dyke Road bridge. ALEAS has caused more than £3,000 of damage.

The FUK tag is prominent around Lewes Road and East Brighton and police are logging its owner's every move as he sprays his way from street to street.

Across Sussex, residents, businesses, police and councils are united in their determination to rub out the menace.

In London, the Government is offering rewards of up to £500 to anyone who names the most infamous graffiti taggers.

It is a pilot scheme organised as part of the Home Secretary's nationwide Name That Tag campaign, which is calling for the worst offenders to be named and shamed.

Brighton and Hove city centre manager Soozie Campbell has written to the Government, calling for the reward scheme to be extended into the city.

The Argus has printed these pictures of some of Brighton and Hove's most troublesome tags, encouraging people to contact police with information about their authors.

Police and council workers say it will aid their fight.

Christopher Dugan, of the council's city enforcement section, said: "Tagging is an anti-social activity that the council takes very seriously.

"This mindless vandalism costs us and private individuals thousands of pounds every year.

"We are working with the police and other local organisations to stamp out this activity and will use the full extent of the law to prosecute those concerned."

Hidden cameras have already proved a success in the city, where they have been used to prosecute a number of graffiti criminals.

The most high profile was Richard Jay, nicknamed the Bouncing Doughnut after his distinctive tag, which appeared on walls all over Hove.

He was caught after police released camera pictures of him spraying a wall off Western Road, which they had painted white.

Jay was arrested at his flat in Holland Road and later fined £500 after pleading guilty to spraying the wall.

But resources are slim and time short.

Sergeant Peter Castleton, who deals with community policing in Brighton and Hove, said: "There is an increasing understanding in police circles of the huge effect graffiti has on communities.

"Once done, it is there 24/7 until its removed.

"It can add to the feeling of lawlessness in an area, increasing people's fear of crime."

He said the new campaign encouraging people to come forward with information about taggers will help catch those responsible.

He added: "If we have information which leads us to a suspect, it is half the battle.

"Often when we arrest these people we can find evidence they are taggers by searching through their school books or bedrooms, where we may find they have been practising."

But the biggest weapon against the taggers is getting rid of their handiwork as quickly as possible.

PC Castleton said: "Consistently we have noted that the quicker graffiti is removed, the less likely it is to return."

Elaine Ghoneim, 45, is sick of coming to work each day to find graffiti sprayed on or near her beauty salon Romantica in Ditchling Road, Brighton.

She said: "It is scruffy, depressing and makes the area look uncared for.

"The council must bring in so much money through tourism but it doesn't appear to be spending it on getting rid of this problem.

"We pay so much money in council tax and I just feel shortchanged."

Train stations and carriages have always been graffiti hot spots.

Carriages are often forced out of service to be cleaned after they have been sprayed.

South Central, which operates Brighton station, spends about £3 million a year cleaning paint off its trains.

Now it has hired covert investigators to patrol station areas throughout Sussex and catch the vandals in action.

Worthing Borough Council spends more than £100,000 annually battling vandalism, with about one-third being spent on graffiti.

Some of the worst-hit places have been the town centre, Maybridge and Durrington.

The subway under Chapel Road and High Street, Worthing, used to be targeted by graffiti artists until volunteers and the council had special laminated pictures set along its walls, allowing cleaners to quickly wipe away spray paint.

The campaign has been welcomed by Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper.

He said: "Graffiti tags spoil our enjoyment of public places, increase fear of crime and foster an environment where crime and anti-social behaviour can thrive."

Call The Argus on 01273 544517 or the city council's specialist enforcement section 01273 294514.