A young couple returning home after a night out with friends in Valencia's Carmen district recently were attacked by a gang of six or seven graffiti vandals for threatening to call the police.

The incident occurred as the couple were walking along the calle Murillo towards the Torres de Quart hoping to flag down a taxi when they spotted the youths scrawling graffiti on the outside of the Velluters music school.

Confronting the gang and threatening to call the police, the couple were pushed and shoved and had paint sprayed on their clothes. As they walked away, the young man was hit from behind by a flying brick, but the pair escaped with only minor bruises.

"I was just trying to do my duty as a citizen. I've not got anything against graffiti per se, but not on people's home, public buildings or businesses... The next time, I'll just call the police directly because at the end of the day, you just get scared and don't achieve anything," explained the victim ruefully.

At €150 euros a time, the fine for this kind of vandalism includes clean-up costs.