Eagle-eyed residents are being urged to help eliminate graffiti by reporting criminals who are vandalising the borough's streets.

The amount of offensive material sprayed in public places has been halved in the past year, but town hall chiefs want the problem totally eradicated.

Councillor Daniel Brown, responsible for highways and transportation, said: "Graffiti is a crime and we want people to report it. It is an eyesore, anti-social and costs taxpayers' money to clear up."

The Brent Graffiti Partnership Board was set up in May 2007 to crack down on graffiti vandalism and help clean up Brent.

It includes representatives from Brent Council, Metropolitan and British Transport Police, London Underground and Brent Housing Partnership.

Sergeant Andy Lester, who represents Brent police on the graffiti board, said: "Safer Neighbourhood Teams across Brent have long recognised the detrimental effect that graffiti has on communities, making them feel unsafe, and that their areas are uncared for."

Since the partnership board was set up, 12 people caught graffitiing have signed acceptable behaviour agreements and four graffiti removal teams are now in operation. The most recent report from inspectors Capital Standards/ENCAMS showed that between April and July this year, 89 per cent of Brent sites were totally free of graffiti. Any incidents of graffitiing should be reported to the council on 020 8937 5050.