The pair, Thomas Dolan, 20 and Thomas Whittaker, 18 have been sentenced to 15 and 12 months respectively at Manchester Crown Court for causing £13,000 worth of damage to railway property.

Supporters have mounted a campaign on the Internet and in the city to have the sentences reduced.

On summing up the judge acknowledged that the pair were decent lads with real talent but nevertheless their was a principle to be upheld and he felt he had to create a deterrent to other less gifted graffiti vandals.

Graffiti in Brighton is at an all time low at present thanks to the vigilance of CityClean in regularly monitoring and removing graffiti and in the city’s strategy of enabling artists to exhibit their work in specific designated sites.