Guilty: graffiti vandals who were traced to website (From Worcester News)

Guilty: graffiti vandals who were traced to website

9:50am Wednesday 24th December 2008 in News By Claire Fry, @clairefryWN #WENews

FOUR teenagers who went on a graffiti-spraying vandalism spree in a Malvern graveyard and play area were caught after police traced them through a social networking site.

Damage was caused towards the end of March by offensive words, ‘tags’ – a person’s unique graffiti signature – and pictures being sprayed onto equipment and safety flooring at the Craig Lea Children’s Play area off Shirley Close.

Headstones at Malvern Cemetery were daubed in the paint and residents’ fence panels were also sprayed.

The following day more vandalism was discovered on tunnel walls at Great Malvern train station.

However the culprits were only found when a Malvern community support officer typed in some of the words sprayed by the teenagers – including the word ‘Shiny Waffle’ – into an internet search engine, and found their names on a social networking site.

Thomas Fidoe, of Baughton, Earls Croome admitted at Worcester Magistrates Court the charges of criminal damage to the play area valued at £5,590, another £100 to the railway tunnel walls and three other counts of criminal damage to fence panels.

James Pritchard, of Shaw Walk, Malvern, also admitted the criminal damage charge to the play area and the railway tunnel.

James Horsfall, of Elmley Close, Malvern, admitted damage to the play area, which took place on Saturday, March 22, along with two cases of criminal damage to fence panels and the following day damage caused at the train station.

The 17-year-old girl from Worcester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also admitted causing damage to the play area, but four other matters against her were dropped.

Douglas Marshall, prosecuting, said the acrylic paint had been sprayed onto the gravestones. At the play area, bins, benches and special flooring were damaged – but while some had been cleaned by Malvern Town Council, more money was needed to fix it and the bill was expected to be almost £5,000.

At the railway station, CCTV captured the images of the three 18-year-old men spraying their ‘tags’.

In mitigation for Horsfall, Mark Lister said the apprentice cabinet maker had not been in trouble with police before, but what happened was complete “lunacy”.

Mr Lister said the teenagers had come across the paints while drunk, and not all the graffiti was theirs.

In mitigation for Fidoe, a Worcester College of Technology student and Pritchard, who works at Morrison’s in Malvern, Susan Duncan said the pair were adamant they had not caused the damage to the gravestones and the claim for damages from the council was based on a pure estimate.

Chair of the magistrates Heather Osborne described what the four did as very serious.

“You caused significant damage, this constituted as a spree,” she said.

The 17-year-old was fined £750 and given a six-month referral order.

The three men were given a 12-month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work and a curfew of three months.

Pritchard was ordered to pay £1,103.50, Horsfall £1, 112.50 and Fidoe £1,120.99.