DEFIANT councillors have vowed to continue with work to spruce up Canvey's seawall after vandals defaced it with graffiti.

A section of the wall near the Labworth Cafe, in Eastern Esplanade, was sprayed with red graffiti over the weekend.

The vandalism has sparked anger amongst volunteers and councillors, who have spent the past 12 months trying to brighten up the seawall with a series of murals.

They fear artists will no longer want to take part in the project because of concerns their hard work will be destroyed.

Barry Palmer, Canvey Independent Party councillor for the island's South ward, and a member of the Bay Watch group, is urging residents to help stop the vandals.

He said: “I can’t really see the point of the graffiti, we just have to make it clear that the vandals won’t have their own way.

“We just need people to keep a look out and report things as they happen. I don’t think we can put CCTV there along the wall, as a lot of people will say that is snooping. I also think that some people are now a little bit hesitant to paint things in case vandals ruin it.

“It’s important we put a stop to things like this as soon as they happen.”

The Bay Watch group is made up of volunteers who regularly visit Thorney Bay in a bid to improve the area.

Fellow member Barry Campagna, also a Canvey South councillor, said the graffiti is not in-keeping with what the group has been doing to improve the seawall.

He added: “It’s a problem as people are confusing their version of art with what’s already on the wall.

“Not everyone agrees that it’s art. We can’t just have people spraying it. The whole wall has been painted blue, and there are other really nice murals and the graffiti just spoils it. We’ve now painted over the graffiti and it won’t be tolerated.

“If people do want to make their own contributions, then they should set up a group officially and approach the council