Former Lord Mayor Stanley King is prepared to get rid of graffiti himself - if Yorkshire Cable will give him the paint to do it.

Coun King says Yorkshire Cable junction boxes are the main target of the scribbles and he is being flooded with complaints.

Now, as Lord of the Manor of Heaton, he believes it is his duty to ensure the streets are spic and span.

He says he has approached Telewest Broadband, owners of Yorkshire Cable, about the messy boxes which are their property.

Now Coun King has offered to do it himself if the firm provides the paint.

Coun King (Con, Heaton) said: "The rash of spray-painted graffiti which has disfigured many streets and buildings in the district has aroused a great deal of public comment and demands for some form of removal work to be carried out."

He said the worst parts of his ward were at Emm Lane and Highgate and he had contacted the company with his concerns.

Coun King added: "The chief targets seem to be the Yorkshire cable junction boxes - probably because there are so many of them.

"I am tired of seeing unsightly, meaningless initials and symbols sprayed on junction boxes without any attempt to remove them.

"I'm willing to wield a paint brush myself if the cable company will supply the paint."

A Telewest Broadband spokesman said they took graffiti seriously and had a rolling maintenance programme inspecting 6,000 street cabinets in Yorkshire.

She said the company would be talking to Coun King.

"We are aware of concerns in the Heaton area and have been working closely with members of the community and the Highways department. As a result we have surveyed 80 cabinets in the area and are currently reviewing and agreeing a plan of action to be implemented soon."

She said they welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with the police and Council to explore ways of identifying and deterring future offenders.

Richard Wixey, Bradford Council's director of environmental protection and waste management strategy, said: "The Council has a graffiti unit to clean graffiti from its own buildings. We can clean private property but there is a charge.

"We couldn't do the junction boxes without being required to because we would be trespassing."

Coun King bougnt the title of Lord of the Manor of Heaton in 1964. The title would have vanished because its former holder, Tom Sowden, had no children. It dates back to the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

As Lord of the Manor he has few remaining rights, but could impound stray cattle or sheep wandering into his garden and would own them after a year and a day.