A CENTRE for the disabled has been covered in graffiti in the latest in a series of vandal attacks.

The windows and panels of Durham County Council-run Stanley Day Centre were daubed with chalk on Monday night.

The centre, in Wear Road, has been a target by young vandals for the past two years.

Thousands of pounds of damage has been caused with windows being smashed. There are plans to fit security cameras to deter the culprits.

A spokeswoman for the centre said: "It's not a little bit of chalk, it is covered. It looks like the work of three girls because the graffiti is these unusual names, Yasmin, Misha and Katy.

"The police are going to take photographs and show them in the schools to see if anyone recognises the names.

"We have just raised money to get the interior decorated and the council has painted the outside to make it look smart."

The spokeswoman said the centre has recently suffered damage to handrails on disabled access ramps, smashed windows and youngsters climbing on the roof of the building, which is next to the disused Hustledown House old people's home.

The spokeswoman said teenagers often congregated outside the centre, drinking.

"The people that come here are physically disabled and for some it is the only place they visit."

She added: "It would be nice for them to come to a nice building without worrying whether it has been vandalised."