VANDALS scrawled racist graffiti in large white letters on a footbridge over a main commuter route in Marlow.

The message was aimed at Muslims and is believed to be a reaction to the recent arrests in High Wycombe, London and Birmingham in connection with an alleged terrorist plot.

The graffiti was spotted by street cleaners on the footbridge over the A404 in Marlow and reported to the Highways Agency at around 7.20am on Monday.

Martin Dellar, a spokesman for the agency, said it was very unusual to find racist graffiti in Marlow but had probably been seen by hundreds of people travelling on the A404 in the direction of the M4.

He said due to the highly offensive nature of the graffiti the agency's first priority was damage limitation.

The clean up team covered the wording up with a blanket until the traffic flow had become lighter and they were able to clean it off properly.

Helen Robinson, 38, of Newtown Road, Marlow, who drove past the graffiti, said: "There has never been a problem with racism in Marlow before that I am aware of."

Mrs Robinson, an IT sales executive, added: "It's a bit worrying.

"My initial thought when the arrests were made was it's a bit close to home."

Lina Ghosh, director of the High Wycombe Racial Equality Council, said she was disappointed by the vandalism but was taking measures to work with people in the community to try and address people's concerns and prevent it happening again.

She said: "It has been a very peaceful co-existence here on the whole. Nothing has been proven yet. We are working flat out to make sure race relations don't break down."