Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Yob admits cenotaph vandalism
The yob who scrawled graffiti on Wolverhampton’s cenotaph faced justice this afternoon after being shamed into handing himself into police by the Express & Star.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, insisted he did not know what the war memorial was for when he scribbled the nickname ‘Stryda’ on it.
The lout was caught on CCTV and his picture was carried by the Express & Star this week, triggering widespread outrage.
The youth, who lives with his mother and brothers in Wolverhampton, walked into a city police station to give himself up last night. He admitted criminal damage before a specially convened youth court today.
Prosecutor Mrs Sukninder Rai said: “He was remorseful and ashamed. He offered to clean up the damage.”
Mr Najeeb Ali, defending, told the court the teenager was “gutted” after learning the symbolism of the cenotaph and said he been drinking at the time.
Four nicknames and an obscene drawing were scrawled on the cenotaph, erected in 1922. War veterans said it was an “outrage” and an insult.
A £750 clean up operation at the cenotaph will start at 6am tomorrow.
District Judge Martin Brown told the teenager: “Your behaviour has been described as loutish and yobbish and not many people would argue.”
The youth was given a 40-hour community punishment order and told to pay £110 compensation and costs.
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Why not get the yob to clean it up him self and save the council’ £750 clean up charge!!
Disgusting to hear “I didnt know what it stood for”!! JOKE!
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why cant he be named???? that moron deserves public humiliation.
he was only ‘gutted’ ‘remorseful’ and ‘ashamed’ because he was found out, kids like this are totally pointless.
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Cost of clean up £750, fined £110, hope his 40 hours are tougher than the fine!
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‘110 compensation and costs’ to be paid by this bonehead. It costs ‘750′ to clean up. Who pays for the rest of the clean up bill? Am I right in thinking its the taxpayer. Something wrong with the system methinks. Surely the vandal should pay up for all of the graffiti costs. That would be justice and a deterrent.
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The courts and the laws of this land fail the law abiding majority yet again!
Desecration should be a serious criminal offence punishable with custodial sentences of several years – not treated as a case of petty vandalism.
And the compensation this young yob has to pay (if he ever does at all) doesn’t even cover the cost of cleaning up the graffiti. I’m outraged and totally dismayed!
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A £750 clean up operation told to pay £110 compensation and costs.how do those sums add up,not exactly a deterrent is it,sums up the justice system!SCUMBAG!!!!
,
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Sorry but where will the £750 come from then if this vandal is not going to pay it? The ratepayer again i assume? Got off very light didn’t he? And why wasn’t his name released? Hopefully the 40 hours will be spent cleaning up grafiti, heaven knows there is plenty of it about.
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I hope he is paying full £750 clean up bill also should be fined for underage drinking, hope his parents are the type to issue their punishment as well, he ought to be ashamed of himself, gives youngsters a bad name
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£750 clean up operation starts tomorrow yet all he has to pay is £110 and that includes court costs . I give up!!!!!!
Part of that community service shoul be to attend a meeting with military and ex military personel so he could explain his action. He should be shamed!!!!!
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he should be made to clean up all graffiti in the area. people know who he is from the pictures that have already been shown so he wont hold his head up high for a long time to come.
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This yob deserves to clean this up with his bare hands, what a poor effort of a fine is £110??!!
This country is a joke.
Name & shame the yob, its the only way to cut this ABSO order behaviour out!!
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could judge martin brown come on here and explain how he comes to the £110 compensation and costs figure when the clean up comes to £750 awaiting response tough on crime
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A community punishment at least means he will be doing something useful: usually it means doing things like carpentry, conservation work, decorating or helping the elderly. I would say that’s more of a punishment and more socially useful than simply taking £750 off him, or getting him to clean up that one piece of graffiti, and sending him on his way.
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The District Judge is barking mad; I am speechless. Why should the taxpayer fund the cost of cleaning the memorial? It is a shame the E & S didn’t publish a bigger picture so we know who he is. Also, he’s 17…. Why was he drunk in a public place? Where had he got his alcolhol from? Why wasn’t this taken into consideration?
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He should be birched.
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The yob should be made to stand with the ex service men on Rememberance Sunday to learn what the Cenotaph is for!
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I think what this young man did was truely apaulling. He should be made to clean it up and face public humiliation. Afterall, he has offended so many people by his actions. I do however feel that by him handing himself into the police, that should count for something(maybe, just a glimmer that the world is not all bad)
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It has been said that British law is the best but how can it be when a lout causes damage of £750 but only gets fined £110!
The laws of this country are archaic and need bringing into the 21st century and why cannot the louts name be given out? Another outdated law no doubt which protects so called young offenders!
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” He was gutted after learning the symbolism of the cenotaph”.
He’s probably one of the very few families who didn’t have family who were traumatised,maimed,tortured,killed by the wars.
Don’t they have history lessons anymore in school??
He should do hard labour for the pitifull 40 hour community service,then another 40 hours watching vidios The World at War.
Oh no we better not do that, because the Yob will claim compensation for suffering from post traumatic stress!!
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£110????..IT’S GOING TO COST £750 ???CANT STOP HIS DOLE/DRINK MONEY ???
HE’S A DREGG OF SOCIETY….
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PURE SCUM !
would he really have give himself up if the E&S and local TV news had not featured him, I THINK NOT !
So then what happens, the liberal PC brigade give him a nonsense fine ( that he will probably never pay )payable at at some rediculous amount each week.
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Of course he can be named. Put it on facebook or something. Bring back the birch for this type of evil little cretin.
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Just comes to show how much of a joke the council and the courts system are! And you people wonder why they do it? Er…look at the punishment!
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This is dispicable.
I am a teenager myself, and find this act a more severe offence than £110 down and 40 hours of light work.
I’d fine him £1000, and give an hourlong speech on why we shouldn’t disrespect soldiers.
He’d love it if he were shot at daily now?
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make this little slug clean the lot up,then stick him in the army that just might learn him a little bit of respect for our heroes fighting wars all over the world.
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He has lived in W-ton all his life and doesnt know what the Cenataph represents..who gives him the right to scrall his filth on our buildings..17yrs old and he uses drink as his excuse!! thats a a wonderful start to his life! GOD HELP US ALL.
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perhaps judge martin brown could himself clean up the graffiti, at least then he may find out what it is like to actually do something useful. what kind of deterrent is this? wake up and grow a backbone
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(To reply 1) I can believe he didn’t know what the cenotaph stood for, as schools no longer teach children about British history or the British way of life.
Fine.community service…a banning order from the town centre would seem appropriate too.
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£750 to clean up,yob gets £110 fine. Didn’t we all predict he’d get off easy. As to not knowing it was a war memorial, he still vandalised something owned by someone else. Another victory for the yobs. Thanks magistrates!
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What a blood thirsty lot you Wolverhampton folk are. The fairness of the punishment will encourage others to come forward and a slow but welcome improvement to society will take place. Nobody will step forward and own up if your going to publicly birch/hang them. Mistake made -been discovered – hearing – fair punishment in line with government legislation – reformed character in the making – another example of the fairness of the society we live in. ‘Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone’. 3 cheers for Wolverhamptons well positioned CCTV in working order…which police officer said they did no good?
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Im 23 years old and have been living in wolverhampton my whole life and i didnt realise what the cenotaph waas until now, so no its not unheard of. Young people today are not educated in things like this and to be quite frank the kid probably thought he was writing on one of those funny shaped lumps of concrete that keep being erected everywhere that cost the government thousands of pounds and are completely pointless. And if it was one of those none of you would even give a damn!!! He got punished and yet still its not enough for you people, im so proud of myself after reading most of these comments as i now know that even though im barely out of my teens myself i have more morals and decency than what should be older and wiser people!!!
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aj so its ok to write on those funny shaped lumps of concrete is it. it is still defacing property i will come and paint on your wall as it seems to be ok graffiti is a mess agree with wasting the money on useless lumps
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This moron should have been find a lot more than £110. He should be forced to clean up the damage he caused, named and shamed. To say that he did not know what it stood for beggers belief, especially now when service personell are losing their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Make an example of him and educate the loser.
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Why is this scum being protected by blurring his face? Why were the other chavscum shown on the video not charged, as they were obviously accessories to the act and are therefore as guilty as the perpetrator?
It is time to get rid of these politically motivated judges, who think more of the ‘rights’ of the offenders than the victims (in this case the friends and families of those who have sacrificed their lives).
aj #31 you show your ignorance, at 23 years of age you are not “barely out” of your teens – War Memorials tend to be financed and built though local (voluntary) public subscription – perchance you are one of the chavscum shown on the CCTV footage shown on the BBC – hope the words aren’t too long for you to read/understand.
A sign of the times, unfortunately – Zanu New Labour, tolerant of criminals – tough on the victims of crime!
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Why does aj think it’s ok to scrawl on a “funny shaped lump of concrete”? How would he like it if he’d saved for ages to buy a bike or a car and someone just came along and vandalised it? How has aj managed to live for 23 years without seeing a remembrance parade or wearing a poppy?
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I am female first of all and no i dont think its ok to graffiti on lumps of concrete at all and yes i do wear a poppy, have you seen the cenotaph lately its an eyesore without any graffiti and should have been restored and cleaned up a long time ago. I dont agree with what this kid did i think its downright discusting but i also believe that all the peopl here crying out for capital punishment really need a hobby. All im trying to say is that it is possible for someone not to know what the cenotaph stands for especially and young male because lets face it who teaches them the importance of these things??? Well not you lot for sure because to be completely frank i would hate to have any of you people around my children if you were telling them that graffiti is not acceptable but the public humiliation of a (very stupid) 17 year old is acceptable. Well good on you i hope you all enjoy spreadin the word that chopping off this kids hands is the best way to deal with him. “it takes a society to raise a child??” thats the sayin well if this is the society we live in thank god i dont yet have any children!!!
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aj 31 are you the same aj 14 who posted earlier if so your comments dont make sense
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Rock #34 talk about ignorance, shame you didnt read my comment properly i wasnt talkin about the memorial i was talkin about thos big lumps of concrete stuck all over wolverhampton that have things such as the alphabet written on them. I think the reason this story is getting to me so much is that i have a brother a similar age and to hear you people talkin about such cruel and ridiculous punishments makes me feel phsyically sick. But thats right you people were never teenagers and you people dont have children of your own or relatives that have done something as stupid as this have you?? No no of course not. Well i hope one day you are on the receiving end of such comments and maybe then you would think a little differently. Your no better than the lad in this cctv footage, he had no respect or decency when commiting this crime and you people seem to be lacking in decency yourselves reading your reactions. Dont worry about me with those long words Rock, im just happy to know im more mature than people like youself.
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no phil #37 im not the same person.
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Aj – You admitted and I quote “Im 23 years old and have been living in wolverhampton my whole life and i didnt realise what the cenotaph waas until now” – you must have wondered what all those people were doing each November laying poppy wreaths around the cenotaph – I am surprised that your knowledge of history, like the chav who perpetrated this act, is so lacking, suggest you look up World WarI and WW2 on Google, or another search engine, or even maybe go to a library.
As to said chav “writing … one of those funny shaped lumps of concrete that keep being erected everywhere that cost the government thousands of pounds and are completely pointless”, you are admitting that they were erected by local government and paid for by the taxpayer – has he ever paid tax? is he likely to? With the standard of education today being so dumbed down, and feral “yoofs” being allowed to do whatever they fancy with little recourse to just punishment, it is unlikely that he and his pack/gang will ever work and/or make a positive contribution to society.
For your information, I have served my country in the Armed Forces in the Middle East and elsewhere, and two of my nephews are still serving (one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan at the moment), I also have a son of 16 who may well enlist. I am now disabled due to active service in HM Forces and think that many who have posted are either in a similar position or know a family who is.
How dare you try to lecture others when you have little, if any experience yourself.
How can you defend scum like this who has parroted words given by his solicitor in order to receive a lesser punishment?
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What annoys me is that it’s hardly dark and if i remember correctly the War Memorial in Wolvo isn’t exactly out of the way – it’s right near the middle of town, surely there must have been people walking past who would have stopped them? I understand that everyone is afraid that the next person you bump into will knife you but some things have got to be worth standing up for surely?
What also annoys me is that the yobs with him and the girl who obviously admires his work get nothing – they should be punished for being an accomplice.
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Ill leave you all with your torches and pitch forks then.
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How would Shariah law have dealt with him?
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AJ- what an incredibly well reasoned response for excusing YOUR- and this cretin’s- ignorance. Do you not think that the fact that memorials to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending the rights of people such as yourself are engraved with words to the effect of ‘In Memory Of The Glorious Dead’ give it away that it is something other than a ‘funny shaped lump of concrete’ with ‘the alphabet written on it’? Are you seriously telling me that this moron can reach the age of 17, and be literate enough to scrawl obscenities, yet cannot read clearly written script dedicating this memorial to those who have fallen serving OUR country? Wake up.
Yes, of course we were all teenagers, and sure, we’ve probably all done things we regret- I certainly have, but never would I have dreamt of doing anything like this. It’s no different to scrawling obscenities over someone’s gravestone, and are you seriously going to tell me that this skiprat wouldn’t know what a gravestone is? Anyone with an ounce of common decency and morality knows the difference between right and wrong. This is just a blatant lack of respect and morals, and to try and excuse it as drunkenness and ignorance that ‘he didn’t know what it stood for’ is absolute garbage. If you honestly believe these are that moron’s words and not the spiel of his solicitor, then you are even more naive than you have already shown yourself to be.
I am a currently serving member of the RAF, with several generations of my family having served in the RAF and Army. I, unlike yourself, have had been lined up on parade to hear the news that a friend of mine had been killed on operations in service of his country. Now put yourself in that position and excuse his behaviour. I second Rock- how DARE you lecture us, and how DARE you defend scum of this ilk? In fact, how DARE you criticise anyone else’s maturity when you reply to decent folks’ justified anger with a jibe about ‘torches and pitchforks’ when you obviously have no personal experience to back up your hand-wringing criticism? There are no long words here- nothing more than four syllables. Please take a reality check, realise you’ve made a bit of a fool of yourself excusing this maggot’s actions, crawl back under your stone and stop wasting our oxygen- maybe try learning some respect yourself, unless that’s too much to ask?
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