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MYSTERIOUS masterpieces such as the well-known work of street artist Banksy are few and far between in Southampton.

Instead of £100,000 subversive stencilling decorating streets, the majority of graffiti daubed in subways and housing estates bear gang markings, signature logos or crude slogans.

Long associated with 80s hip-hop culture, modern graffiti has often been used to mark territory or as a symbol of bravado in urban areas.

By the early 90s it had entered the mainstream media, featuring on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's opening title sequence. Cheeky Will Smith is depicted being caught in the act by police and casually trying to pretend his spray can is in fact deodorant.

But what started out as a form of political protest or artistic expression by rebellious teens has today become a costly nuisance.

Investigators at the antisocial behaviour team have compiled a database of about 700 images in Southampton where youngsters have plastered their names across public places.

Thanks to teens bragging on websites such as Bebo and being pictured next to their handiwork, senior investigator Jackie Compton and her team are now finding it easier to crack down on criminal damage.

She said: "The last two people that were arrested and are going through the courts now were from the Shirley Warren area.

"We don't have gangs in Southampton. We have delinquent youth groups in built-up areas such as Millbrook and Lordshill.

"It's not only the boys, girls tag too. Girls' tagging is much more flowery.

"It all looks awful and brings down an area. Residents are just fed up with it."

A quick glance at Bebo and other social networking sites sees a range of groups cropping up, including Skunk Kings of Lordshill, St Mary's Mandela Boyz, Razor Ladies of Lordshill and Thornhill Psychopathic Army (which is often misspelled on walls) to name but a few.

Sites depict teens showing off their trademark "tags" and standing in front of logos sprayed in subways.

In Southampton it takes two cleaners working full-time with costly chemicals from Australia to clear up after "writers".

John Martin, of the council's reactive cleansing team, found graffiti was a growing problem, with tags being favoured above large murals.

He said: "We are removing less graffiti in square metres, but the number of incidents is increasing. Territorial tags are on the rise. We work with some of the more talented artists to create billboards because it is a legitimate art form. The boards are used to cover derelict buildings."

Each year it costs £120,000 to chemically remove unsightly scrawlings from public places. But many death-defying tags sprayed at train stations or on the sides of bridges cannot be removed for health and safety reasons.

In the last three years the cleansing team have scrubbed 46,788 square metres of graffiti from the streets of Southampton - that's the equivalent of nearly eight St Mary's football pitches.

Worst-hit areas include the Polygon, Regents St, Ogle Road, all subways and the Portswood Spring Crescent area. Mr Martin added: "There is an increase in graffiti activities. We are being called out on more jobs than we were a year ago for small tags on walls and bus shelters. We are in constant demand."

The lingo - graffiti terminology Tag/tagging - the basic writing of an artist's name in spray paint or marker Throw up/fill in - graffiti painted very quickly with two or three colours or an outline A piece - elaborate design of artists name in large block or bubble lettering Blockbuster - a huge design covering a maximum of space in two contrasting colours often to block other artists Wildstyle - graffiti involving interlocking letters, arrows, and connecting points. Can take three hours to several days.

Capping - when there is conflict between two artists and one writes over another's work.

WASH IT OUT: A member of the anti-graffiti team uses a pressure spray to clean a wall.

2:58pm Thursday 28th February 2008

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