JUST one yob could be responsible for much of the graffiti which caused Huddersfield to axe its entry to the Yorkshire in Bloom competition.

He - or she - has spread the initials WFM over the town centre.

The vandal believed to be responsible uses a special pen to make his or her mark.

Damage worth tens of thousands of pounds worth has been caused, including the initials being carved in shop windows.

One fed-up trader said: "Empty walls are irresistible.

"It has definitely got worse of the past two years.

"You used to get the odd poster stuck up, but not all this destruction."

The fight to get rid of grot-spots is on after Huddersfield's entry for the Yorkshire in Bloom contest was scrapped at the last minute because of the town centre's shabby condition.

People who drop litter and chewing gum should shoulder a lot of the blame, say officials.

Pensioner Margaret Wainwright, of Newsome, said she felt that litter bins were not in the right place.

"There are four all along Victoria Lane towards Woolworths, but around the piazza, where people have their lunch, there are hardly any," she said.

"There should be some plants or flowers in Market Place, to brighten it up. It looks really dreary.

"They are talking about doing up John William Street, but they want to start spending some money on Market Place first," she added.

A spokeswoman for the Pink Caddilac fashion shop on Market Walk agreed.

She said: "It is as though Market Place has a rubber floor, there is so much chewing gum there.

"I'ts a shame. There are CCTV cameras in the town centre. They should be picking it up."

Today, a leading Kirklees councillor said he thought the problems had been exaggerated.

Clr David Payne, Cabinet member responsible for environmental matters, said: "Kirklees always does extremely well in independent surveys of cleanliness of its town centres. Considering we have several, that is quite good."

But he added: "Graffiti is undoubtedly a problem and we have put extra money into rapid removal of racist or offensive graffiti.

"The problem is that a lot of it is not on council property."

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