THE Mayor of Hereford wants tougher sentences and "zero tolerance" for vandals she says are wrecking the city's reputation.

Councillor Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes says magistrates must back work done by the police to catch the culprits.

Coun Lloyd-Hayes spoke out after the recent spate of attacks on floral displays and street decorations in the city centre - for which arrests have been made.

She has written to county police commander Chief Superintendent Kevin Bentley asking for action to be stepped up.

"But the courts have to do their bit," she added.

"Vandalism is a blight on our city and deserves more than a slap on the wrist or stern warning - I'm all for zero tolerance on this," she said.

Criminal damage is one of the few consistent categories of crime in the county.

The indiscriminate nature of such offences defies the pattern analysis and intelligence techniques that have brought figures for other categories down.

Demands on patrol officers mean they often cannot respond to reports of damage immediately.

CCTV stills identify suspects - but after the event.

Photographer Russell Lewis, who runs Photogenix, in Commercial Road, put whoever smashed his window (again) in the picture this week with a poster that made his feelings towards the culprit plain.

Mr Lewis said business owners were tired of their doorways being used as urinals and the nightly "Russian roulette" over damage.

His sign, he said, had plenty of support from customers and passers-by.

"But what can you say. A lot of (the damage) is random stupidity," he added.

Felicity Mackenzie has had plenty of support too.

Last week Ms Mackenzie, who runs Creative Lighting, in Commercial Street, told the Hereford Times that she was "at the end of her tether" over damage and rowdiness in the city centre.

She said that since the article appeared, customers have told her the city isn't what it used to be.

"It can't afford to slip any further," she said.