Vandals go on rampage during Tube shutdown

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Old Street, Angel, Caledonian Road, Holloway Road and Arsenal stations were all defaced with graffiti in a spree which started when the Tube shut on Christmas Eve. It re-opened at about 8am on Boxing Day.

Between these times, the vandals broke in, leaving racist graffiti on huge sections of platform walls and parked trains.

Police are now studying the "tags" used in the graffiti in an attempt to identify the culprits.

Hundreds of hours of CCTV footage will also be examined by officers and Transport for London.

British Transport Police said fire extinguishers had also been set off by the intruders.

Old Street and Angel stations had to open later than planned yesterday as the fire extinguishers were replaced.

Work was continuing today to deal with the graffiti.

The final bill is likely to run into tens of thousands of pounds. A spokesman for British Transport Police said: "Both stations [Old Street and Angel] were heavily graffitied and also had fire extinguishers set off. The damage was very severe.

"Some of the graffiti is offensive. Officers have also observed some that is racist at Old Street.

"We believe it was the same gang that vandalised both stations but we do not know yet how they got in.

"It is a possibility that they came through the tunnels from somewhere else."

He added: "Caledonian Road was quite extensively attacked with graffiti. There was damage to the platform, walls and between the tracks, but nothing offensive or racist.

"At Holloway Road graffiti was found on the stations and platforms, with numerous tags, and at Arsenal similar graffiti on platforms, the subway, and down the stairs."

Police are investigating if the same gang was responsible for all the attacks, as some of the tags were present at all the stations.

A Transport for London spokeswoman said: "A small number of underground stations were affected by graffiti and are being cleaned.

"We are working with BTP to ensure the incidents are being investigated including reviewing CCTV footage."

Graffiti remains a significant problem for police and Transport for London.

In January, two men - Bradley Chapman, 21, and Daniel Elgar, 19 - were killed under a Tube train at Barking as they tried to run away after spraying graffiti at a train depot.