THE message is clear for anyone looking at posters created by pupils of Gorse Hill Junior School.

Graffiti is wrong - plain and simple.

Artistic children have entered more than 50 designs for a competition set up by PC Steve Yeates.

On Sunday he sat in the canteen at Gablecross police station, poring over the bright images.

He wants the young people's work to feature in a display that will provide information about tackling the area's top community priority.

He said: "I visited the junior school a few weeks ago and told the children about the three targets we have for neighbourhood policing in Gorse Hill.

"We want to reduce the number of vehicles speeding through the area, we want to stop people cycling on the pavements and most of all we want to see less graffiti.

"The children are very important for our efforts because they tell the rest of their family about our message.

"For instance, I know I'm not going to be popular with parents because I have asked the pupils to tell their mums and dads to slow down when they drive through Gorse Hill."

But at the moment the youngsters are more focused on the results of the poster competition, which will be announced when entries have come in from the nursery and infant schools.

PC Yeates said: "I started off with a huge pile of posters which I divided in half between those I liked more and less.

"I then carried on doing that until the pile was down to a select few.

"The ones I like have a striking and bold design, but there are some with excellent text too."

One colourful effort from Annabel Titcombe managed to do the former.

"If you were walking past a display and you saw that you would want to read it," PC Yeates said.

Another by Bethany-Anne Beckett carried a clear message.

"It explains why graffiti is wrong and encourages people to do something about it," he said.

According to PC Yeates graffiti is the main problem in Gorse Hill, and it is spreading.

He said: "There is a real problem spot behind McDonald's and garages and walls often get targeted.

"People think it's just a garage, but it gives the taggers the confidence to move out and do shop shutters and houses.

"It's dirty and drags the area down, which is why we want to be proactive about tackling it."