Swearing and slang spray painted on multiple Whanganui buildings and inside of Patea LibraryPlus in South Taranaki

Project manager for CAYAD at Nga Tai o te Awa Jay Rerekura beside some tagging that appeared on their Guyton Street building before it was painted over. Photo / Stuart Munro

Police believe taggers who targeted several buildings in Whanganui last week are the same offenders that spraypainted inside Patea LibraryPlus.

A mixture of businesses and organisations were graffitied including Nga Tai o te Awa, St John's Op Shop, Wanganui Auto Electrical and The Bike Shed.

The graffiti was crudely sprayed on to the buildings in blue, white and purple, featuring phrases such as "Swag, F.T.P and NGA".

These phrases appeared in all of the tagging, leading police to believe that the offenders are the same ones who later targeted several buildings in Patea, including the library.

Office manager at Nga Tai o te Awa Evelyn Hiri-Gush said it was annoying offending.

"I saw it on Friday morning and I swore. It was just so big, they had it on every side of our building except for the front entrance," Hiri-Gush said.

"I put a post up on Facebook saying if they owned up to it, I'd give them a wall inside to tag on. And I would have too."

Buildings on Ridgway, Saint Hill, Wilson and Guyton Sts were targeted last Thursday night, leaving a lot of work for the Community Projects Team.

The team - made up of four workers and a supervisor - is subsidised by Work and Income and is contracted to Whanganui District Council.

Members of the Community Projects Team begin covering graffiti on the Wanganui St John Opportunity Shop on Ingestre Street. Photo / Supplied

"They were awesome. They came in, told us what they were doing, I thanked them and they got it done," Hiri-Gush said.

"I've seen other buildings that are worse off than us. We're just thankful that our building is black, an easy colour."

The team has been busy over the past two weeks with a spike in graffiti incidents and they have been required to patch up about 50 tagging offences.

Nga Tai o te Awa is an organisation that focuses on health, youth, and enterprise.

The building is located on Guyton St and has been the target of tagging before, when swastikas were painted all over it in 2013.

"It's probably kids trying to express themselves, just in the wrong way," Hiri-Gush said.

"I don't think they'll own up to it because they'll probably think they have to clean it, even though it's already gone."

Meanwhile, Patea LibraryPlus has been vandalised.

South Taranaki District Council libraries and cultural services manager Cath Sheard said it was targeted at 11pm on Monday.

South Taranaki District Council maintenance officer Darryl Wereta was forced to repair several smashed windows on Patea LibraryPlus in April. Photo / Lewis Gardner

"My current understanding is that they managed to break in through the back door," Sheard said.

"Damage appears to be restricted to graffiti and a broken modem which provides free Wi-Fi."

Swear words were spraypainted over the walls using red paint.

The building, on Egmont St in Patea, is not in use as it is undergoing $300,000 of renovations.

It is not the first time the library has been targeted. A man smashed several of its windows in April, forcing a temporary closure.

On that occasion, the man admitted his offending to police after he had committed it.

Sheard said that these incidents were not specific attacks on the library.

"The vandalism was not specific to the library, there was other damage done around the town that same night.

"Obviously staff are feeling disappointed and let down. The LibraryPlus being renovated is exciting for the community and senseless damage takes some of that excitement away."

Police inquiries were continuing.