Vandals defaced a listed building at the weekend, leaving the owners with a £1,000 repair bill. In large red and black letters, KKP, BMP and the word KING, with two scrawled crowns, were spray-painted on the front and rear of The Old Pottery, on the Aller Vale Industrial Estate, Kingskerswell. Joanna Ashen, who runs Thought for Paws and rents one of the units at the site, labelled the vandalism 'shameful'. She said this was the the final straw in a long list of events and the breaking point which finally drove owners to seek police intervention. 'We often suffer minor vandalism, but this is just horrendous. Because there is nothing for young people to do in Kingskerswell, they often come down here to hang out and skate. 'We didn't really mind before, but this incident proves that certain individuals are intent on spoiling it for everyone,' she said. Mrs Ashen said that because there was no security and the estate was surrounded by trees, it had become a breeding ground for troublemakers. The graffiti is the latest in a spate of vandalism and breakages at the site. Vandals have trampled across car and dented, windows smashed and items including diesel and a front bumper have been stolen. Recently, one youth fell through a skylight while attempting to retrieve a football. 'Without any CCTV footage it's hard to catch the culprits,' said Mrs Ashen. Workers noticed a group of hooded youths loitering around the site shortly before the incident took place. 'I was working on Saturday and a group of kids were milling around and trying door handles. 'I made myself known and one of them waved to me before they skulked off around the corner. The same group of kids were seen hanging around on Sunday as well.' said Mrs Ashen. Insp Andy Dower, of Newton Abbot police, said: 'The police at Newton Abbot are acutely aware of the criminal damage and graffiti problems in the area and we're implementing some policing operations with high visibility patrols to combat this. 'With regards to the recent spate of criminal damage in the kingskerswell area, the neighbourhood beat manager, PC Ian Russell, is fully aware of the situation and will be focusing his attention on investigating and detecting these crimes.' Police have appealed to the public to help them identify the offenders, as they believe the tag of the paint sprayer should be easily identifiable.