VANDALS have covered a Tesco store in graffiti, sparking fears of a repeat of attacks earlier in the year.

The glass front doors of Great Malvern Express have been covered been with spray paint, in an array of colours including yellow, white and orange by hooded youths.

The wall running alongside the store, in Pickersleigh Road, has also been painted with a host of tags and signatures- it is suspected the same offenders were responsible for a vandalising phone box, in Madresfield Road, also.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "This is now a police matter and the graffiti will be removed in due course."

The store remains open for trading.

Police confirmed the incident happened between 2am and 4am, on Saturday, December 20, and was carried out by three youths wearing hoods and using torches to write on the premises.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting incident number OIS 148-s-201214.

Mayor of Malvern, Julian Roskams, has called for the graffiti to be tackled instantly, before it escalates as seen last December and January, when shops in Church Street and Belle Vue Terrace were targeted, with the word Panda written more than once.

He said: "It's vandalism, which often leads to more serious crimes or more cases of vandalism. This must be tackled to stop this happening.

"The community need to take pride in these areas, and they do.

"I would suggest it's a single group doing this.

"We want this tackled so it does not escalate like it did last year. Last year showed that unless it's tackled, it will escalate. It's not welcome in this town at all.

"The traders work hard to make their frontages look good, especially at this time of year, and the last thing they need is their stores being vandalised.

"We do not want this town spoilt by vandals. It may not be connected, but it's very strange timing as it was around this time it happened last time."

Between last Christmas and mid-January homes, pubs, a bank, a restaurant and a number of shops in the area were sprayed in a "tagging" fashion.