THE sight of graffiti has reared its head again in Bordon, with the town’s new skatepark tagged by spray-paint vandals.

For Whitehill Town Council, which owns the facility at the junction of Budds Lane and Station Road, this kind of incident is all too familiar.

Last year, the town’s old skatepark, in Budds Lane, was shut after being subjected to a spate of vandalism.

It was due to be demolished when the new one opened, but closed prematurely as a result of the unviable repair costs.

Town council clerk Andrea Mann said that work had already begun to get rid of the fresh spray paint.

“I confirm that the graffiti will be removed as soon as possible in accordance with the council’s graffiti-removal policy,” she said.

“We have asked a contractor to provide a quote for this work, which is likely to be in the region of £250 depending on the length of time it takes to remove.”

With reports of graffiti elsewhere in the town arriving fairly frequently, ranging from chalk scribbles to spray tags, the concern is that this kind of vandalism can snowball if left for too long. Posting on the site Nextdoor, Lucy Robinson said: “The skatepark has been graffiti free for a year and today I notice it’s now been targeted.

“The skaters I spoke to are passionate and feel angry that someone has done this. Perhaps the person in question can be encouraged to clean it off.”

But fellow resident Ginny Kennedy said: “The only way to stop graffiti is for concerned people to get rid of it as soon as it appears. The perpetrators want others to see what they have done. The longer it is there, the bigger the satisfaction, even if it is rubbish.”