Graffiti yobs should be provided with designated walls to stop them causing district-wide damage.

Tendring councillor Lawrie Payne's off-the-wall idea received a mixed reaction from the service development and delivery committee last night.

The Harwich East councillor said one way of stopping youngsters damaging buildings and facilities was to build graffiti walls.

Mr Payne (Lab, Harwich East) said: "Some graffiti could even be called an art form.

"Be it right or wrong, it is sometimes a way for young people to express themselves.

"Some authorities have proved a graffiti wall is a productive way of stopping graffiti around a town.

"Think outside the box and provide somewhere for the youths to do it."

He also suggested some graffiti was best left uncleaned, because removing it only gave the perpetrators credibility.