RACIST graffiti daubed on beach huts along Exmouth seafront has caused thousands of pounds of damage.

RACIST graffiti daubed on beach huts along Exmouth seafront has caused thousands of pounds of damage.Heavy-duty black paint, similar to that used to paint tyres, was last weekend used to paint a number of identity 'tags' on the front and sides of the beach huts along Queen's Drive.One of the words scrawled on a beach hut was racist.The vandal also daubed tags on street furniture along Salterton Road and Dinan Way.Exmouth police spokesman PC Gary Gates said one of the painted tags 'NKS' was distinctive and appealed to anyone with information about the vandal to get in touch with the police.PC Gates said: "It is pure vandalism and it needs to be stopped."East Devon District Council said the vandalism was carried out sometime between Friday, March 27, and Monday, March 30.The district council said the vandal scrawled graffiti tags on the sides and fronts of beach huts and then moved on to bollards, post boxes and bus shelters in the town.The council said the clean-up campaign could take several days because the paint was heavy-duty.The council warned the culprit could face a heavy fine if caught.A council spokesman said: "The paint was applied with a brush and, because it was bitumen-based, is taking several days to remove, even with a pressure washer. Once the district council's Street Scene team has finished cleaning off the mess, the affected huts will need to be repainted."One of the affected areas contained a racist word and so this is a particularly unpleasant individual. "Such graffiti constitutes criminal damage and the person responsible, if convicted, would be liable to a heavy fine."Anyone with information about the crime is asked to speak in confidence to the police on 08452 777444, quoting crime reference KE/09/818, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.