Parks staff fear it could be the start of a new spate of vandalism which could reverse the increase in visitors to the historic landmark.

Curator Lance Furbert yesterday told The Royal Gazette : "We suffered a spate of damage by spray artists at Christmas, but it's been quiet since and we hoped the problem had gone away.'' He said the Parks Department had spent $27,000 on revamping the outside of the St. George's fort last year, but plans to spruce up the inside were threatened by the vandals.

"We could spend $10,000 on a sign explaining the history of the fort, but it only takes one person to destroy it,'' Mr. Furbert.

The $3,000 to $4,000 bill for the latest damage will come out of the parks maintenance budget, meaning other work may have to be delayed.

Parks officer Craig Burt said night-time patrols would be the only way of catching the culprits as there were no plans to revert to the policy of locking up the site.

He said: "We can't stop people from being in the park. We have good relations with the Police so maybe we can catch the vandals in the act.

"I think they should be made to clear up the mess. They won't look so cool when their mates see them toiling away in the sun.'' Mr. Furbert noted: "The graffiti artists certainly aren't very bright. Some of the spelling is atrocious.'' He also admitted that he feared the visitors would be put off by the mess.

"It's such a shame because it's an interesting site,'' he said. "The current fort has been there since the start of this century, but there's been a fort on the site since the 1800s. The area was used by the castaways when they built the Deliverance to get to Virginia.''