The city council has carried out a survey of hundreds of boxes, and reached agreement with operator Virgin Media for a cleaning programme to get under way.

Tay Bridges councillor Fraser Macpherson, whose ward has been blighted by graffiti problems, said the scheme was “good news” for city communities.

“This is a wider issue than just the west end — I know from speaking to a number of my colleagues in the council that it is happening across the city,” he said.

“These boxes are often sited in quite prominent locations and, as a result, they are targets for graffiti. This detracts from the amenity of the area for residents.

“The city council met with what was Telewest, now Virgin Media, and reached agreement with them for the removal of graffiti from the boxes.

“The council carried out a survey of the boxes to get an idea of the extent of the graffiti and the waste management department will now set about cleaning so many of them a week.”

He said the programme was already starting to have an effect, with a cluster of boxes at the Sinderins junction, which had been the source of complaints, now returned to their original state.

“The work will be paid for by Virgin Media, so there is no cost to the council. It’s great to see this sort of agreement being reached,” continued the councillor.

“I believe being pro-active is the right approach. If the boxes are cleaned quickly after being vandalised then it is likely to act as more of a deterrent.”

Virgin Media spokeswoman Rebecca Burke said “mutually beneficial” partnerships had been formed with the councils in Dundee and Edinburgh following successful talks.

“Since the introduction of the new anti-graffiti legislation in April 2006, we’ve been actively meeting with local authorities throughout the UK to combat the problem of graffiti.

“We have a dedicated team which has already established partnerships with over 50 local authorities.

“The 250,000-plus cabinets we have in the public highway in more than 150 local authority areas form an essential part of Virgin Media’s telecommunications network.

“It is unfortunate street furniture is an easy target for graffiti vandals. The solution is not always simple and requires a variety of approaches to combat the issue.

“We’re confident that by establishing partnerships in Dundee and Edinburgh, we can together tackle the problem of graffiti in a positive and proactive way to benefit our communities.”

A spokesman for the council cleansing department said they would target the most prominent boxes first.

Although the council has the power to insist on the removal of graffiti, other utility companies are said to have been “co-operative” in clean-up moves.

Councillor Macpherson also revealed he has held talks with council officials about ongoing vandalism at Victoria Park in his ward.

A white-painted hut in the park has been daubed with “graffiti mess” on a number of occasions, and the matter has now been raised with the Leisure and Communities department for action.