POLICE have revealed sprayed pro-Nazi graffiti slogans at an area used by youngsters as a meeting place in the centre of Tavistock.

Town officers said the graffiti, which was said to be racist, was sprayed on parts of the skate park in the Meadows, which is used by youngsters as a meeting place.

Officers called in council workmen to blot out the graffiti, which included swastikis, one of the symbols of Nazi Germany during the Second World War and still widely used by far-right activists today.

A police spokesman said the graffiti also made reference to the EDL, or English Defence League, a far-right Islamaphobic organisation.

He said: ‘Council workmen were called in to cover it up what was racist graffiti. We’ve got no idea why it was done, but it’s the sort of thing you can access online.’

The spokesman said a crime prevention officer had been called in to help local officers with anti-social behaviour problems in Tavistock.

Although officers say incidents have started to tail off, at one stage the town suffered a spate of apparently alcohol-fuelled criminal damage to public buildings and equipment in areas such as the Meadows, where large groups of youths congregated.

Officers were twice forced to bring in dispersal orders earlier this year, which were aimed at preventing large gatherings in public places.