Enfield Council is issuing special graffiti busting kits to residents who are fed up with their properties being defaced.

More than 1,000 of the kits have been purchased so residents and community groups can take direct action themselves against graffiti in their area.

Mike Hainge, Enfield Council's assistant director for waste, street scene and parks, said: "These packs empower the community to take action for themselves to help clean up their own properties or area."

The new packs have been issued as the Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Environment Act comes into force next month.

It gives the council tougher new powers to deal with enviro-crime', allowing the authority to deal with graffiti on private property more easily. Mr Hainge said: "This act puts the onus on the owner to clean off graffiti on their property.

"Until the new act came into force, it was very difficult for the council to deal with graffiti on private land due to legal issues but now we have the power to remove the graffiti without being tied up by red tape. "What we don't want to do is to penalise property owners who are the victims of graffiti effectively criminal damage.

"This is why we have bought these packs to allow the owners to clean off the graffiti themselves without the council having to step in. We are also providing Enfield's new safer neighbourhoods police teams with a number of kits so we can enlist their support in our war on graffiti." And Mr Hainge said the council will be tracking down so-called graffiti artists.

He said: "Our pioneering enviro crime unit has a data base of tags' which they can use to track down those who are vandalising our communities make no mistake, if we find out who they are, we will track them down and prosecute them."