THE Argus has rolled up its sleeves to get behind the Keep Brighton and Hove Tidy campaign.

The council has launched a cleaning blitz on the city’s dirtiest streets – working through the night to paint out ugly graffiti tags along Queen’s Road, North Street and West Street.

The campaign calls on residents and businesses to help improve their area.

Yesterday morning, editor Arron Hendy and reporter Jody Doherty-Cove put on some gloves to paint out tags on bins in the city centre.

The Argus:

“It was great to do our bit by giving a much-needed lick of paint to the bins,” Mr Hendy said.

“An elderly woman in a nearby block of flats seemed delighted that action is being taken to improve the area when she spotted us with our paint rollers in hand.

“We all share some responsibility to keep the place looking tidy.”

Some stubborn tags took two coats of paint to cover, with graffiti on stickers and the bin’s lid needing wipes to remove the mess.

In some cases, specialist equipment is needed.

Cityclean’s streets team leader Max Murray joined The Argus to oversee the painting.

The Argus:

“It’s great to see The Argus getting involved in the Keep Brighton and Hove Tidy campaign,” he said.

“I was really impressed with the hard work Arron and Jody put into removing the graffiti, especially starting at 7am.

“I think they got a really good grasp of the situation we face in tackling tagging and graffiti and how long it takes to remove it.”

As part of the campaign, the council is asking communities across the city to consider joining the clean-up effort – including residents, businesses, volunteers, council staff, councillors, tidy up teams, beach cleaners and students.

Council staff have been using high pressure hoses to jet wash bins, street furniture, lamp posts and pavements, as well as painting out ugly graffiti tags on its property.

Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty, who got stuck in himself on Monday, said: The Argus is doing its bit to help Keep Brighton and Hove Tidy and I want to thank them for their efforts and for supporting the campaign at such a crucial time.

“A huge difference will be made across our city if we can pitch in together and I am keen to explore how we can do more tidy ups.

“I’ve written to both big and smaller companies asking for their support and help. I’m really pleased to say we’ve had some responses, but I’m hoping for many more in the very near future.”