FOUR teenagers arrested in connection with massive graffiti damage in East Kent have been charged.

A total of eight male youths from Thanet were arrested during police raids on Thursday in conneciton with nearly 1,000 incidents of graffiti damage that cost £110,000.

A 17-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old boy from Margate and a 14-year-old from Broadstairs have all been charged with criminal damage and are due to appear in court on February 6.

The remaining suspects - a 14-year-old boy from Margate, a 14-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man from Broadstairs and a 19-year-old man from Birchington - have all been bailed pending further inquiries until May 21.

The 18-year-old man from Broadstairs is also being investigated on suspicion of indecency with a child, and is due to answer bail on February 7.

As well as arresting the young people, the 40 police officers involved in the operation to curb graffiti in Thanet seized various items from addresses including computers, note pads and other personal belongings.

The raids, jointly planned by Kent Police and Thanet District Council, were a response to graffiti damage carried out across the district, including signature "tags", simple script writing, or dubs - where colours have been filled in to a design - being scrawled across public and private builgings and in open spaces.

All "tags" are logged on a police database with details of the designs and their suspected owners, which means that when offenders are arrested they can be questioned about all possible offences.

Supt Chris Hogben, deputy commander of police in East Kent, said: "Graffiti is not an art form. It is criminal damage and, in some cases, damage that is costing local people thousands of pounds to clean off their own homes."