THE cost of cleaning up graffiti and red paint from the County Hall building after a series of pro-Palestine protests has so far reached £13,300.

Somerset Council said this was the cost of cleaning up two of the three incidents, while the total cost is “approaching £20k”.

The first incident took place in March, and two more followed in April.

The third incident has not been cleaned up yet, and until that is done the council says it won’t know exactly what that will cost.

Graffiti and red paint were first daubed on Somerset Council’s County Hall on March 18 by members of Palestine Action.

The group demanded the eviction of a defence firm, Elbit Systems UK, from the council's property Aztec West 600 in Bristol.

Palestine Action claimed the firm could be providing weapons to Israel.

Elbit Systems UK denied the activists’ claims.

A spokesperson said: "We continue to invest and expand our range of services in the United Kingdom, providing critical support and advanced technology to the British armed forces from Aztec West 600 and other sites across the country."