£1,000 a week

"I'm absolutely horrified by it," he said. "It's almost a full-time job to clear it all up.

"I don't think the community realise how bad it is because as soon as it happens on our property we clean it off.

"Every time you turn around there's some maniac left his signature somewhere.

"It's absolutely rife. It's the damage to people's feel of the town."

Mr Beaumont-Jones gave the Adver a tour of some of the worst affected areas, which include the Fleming Way side of Debenhams and parts of Havelock Square.

He has called for a greater show of community spirit in the town from other shop owners.

"We're very proud of the way we keep the Brunel Centre clean," he said.

"It's other parts of the town centre and the problem is if it stays then others add more."

Swindon Council has painted over graffiti on the wall of Thomas Cook in Havelock Square three times.

Mr Beaumont-Jones said: "As soon as you clear if off they're back again and private landlords aren't taking responsibility to make a difference."

Referring to the graffiti along Fleming Way, he said: "A lot of people who come to the town for the first time come in past that so it's the first thing they see.

"Swindon has got a lot of things going for it but this is a real problem.

"You have got a big retailer like Debenhams and they're not interested in the environment of the town.

"It's a criminal offence and the town centre team are prosecuting people.

"At the Brunel alone we have £1,000 worth a damage every week.

"We will prosecute anyone we catch and there are CCTV cameras being placed around the town to catch these people."

Mr Beaumont-Jones said the town needed to tidy up to attract more visitors.

"There's bits and pieces everywhere," he said. "Wherever you look you see it.

"You have to think of the way visitors see the town.

"We need more of a community spirit for the town.

"A lot of people are proud of Swindon and we need a catalyst to come along and make it happen."

Police vow to take action

SWINDON police say they are determined to prosecute anyone caught doing graffiti in the town centre.

PC Andy Alexander, pictured, town centre beat officer, said: "It's a hugely antisocial offence.

"It's punishable by imprisonment and it's an offence that we will always look to prosecute."

PC Alexander said the presence of graffiti makes people feel unsafe.

"It makes people have a fear of crime," he said. "Because it drags the area down.

"The better an area looks the less likely it is that people will cause damage there.

We need private landlords help us to stop it'

THE council's town centre management team is working hard to tackle the problem of graffiti.

It has worked together with the probation service to get people doing community service to clear it off.

Development manager Oliver O'Dell said: "We are trying to be proactive to encourage private sector landlords to take responsibility for their property.

"We're trying to support them with that by looking at what we can do with probation services.

"We did that last year and it was quite successful."

Mr O'Dell says that if graffiti is left in the town centre it leads to more criminal damage.

"My view is that people will value the town centre more if they see it's maintained in a certain way," he said.

"If things like graffiti stay for a number of weeks that encourages more graffiti in the same location.

"If we can keep a handle on stuff like criminal damage and antisocial behaviour then it's going to stop more of it happening.

"There is a responsibility from the private sector to give us a hand because we don't have the resources to manage everything ourselves."

"We manage the public spaces but the private companies need to take responsibility of their spaces."