Great Western Coffee Shop

^46,000 GRAFFITI VANDAL WHO FILMED HIMSELF IS SENTENCED FOLLOWING BTP INVESTIGATION

A graffiti vandal and cannabis grower who caused more than ^45,000 worth of damage to trains in Essex was caught out after he used his mobile phone to take trophy footage of himself.

Basildon Crown Court heard how Robert Martin, 23, struck numerous times at railway sidings near to Southend Victoria station, spraying his tag ^ WEAR ^ on to trains under the cover of darkness.

Martin, of Branksome Avenue, Hockley, used his phone to video himself vandalising the trains and to take pictures of himself posing with several large cannabis plants he had grown in his back garden.

Following an investigation by British Transport Police detectives, Martin was today (Friday 8 October) sentenced to 12 months in prison for the offences, which took place between October 2009 and May 2010.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Dave Rabbitt, said that Martin caused damage to 11 trains in total, all of which had to be taken out of service and professionally cleaned. ^This young man is a prolific graffiti vandal who caused substantial damage to a number of trains in the name of what he presumes is art,^ said Det Con Rabbitt. ^The fact is that Martin^s spray can endeavours were nothing more than wanton acts of vandalism that inconvenienced rail passengers and cost a great deal of money to clean up.^

Martin was first arrested on the evening of 8 October 2009 after he was challenged by a train driver who had spotted him near to a train with a freshly painted WEAR tag on it.

He ran off, but was stopped and arrested outside the station by two BTP uniformed police constables.

His mobile phone was seized and examined by officers, who found the video footage of him spray-painting and the photos of him with his cannabis plants.

Detectives continued their investigations and found a picture of Martin posing by a wall covered in graffiti on the social networking site MySpace.

^The fact that Martin was so keen on keeping a visual record of his exploits meant that in the end he was the architect of his own downfall,^ said Det Con Rabbitt. ^The footage was powerful circumstantial evidence that proved vital in securing his guilty plea.^

Martin was bailed pending further enquiries, but continued to offend on railway ground, committing further offences in the Southend area in April and May 2010.

^That he continued to offend while on bail shows his utter disregard for the law,^ added Det Con Rabbitt. ^I welcome the sentence that has been handed down to him and hope that it serves as a deterrent to others.^

Andy Sanders, head of safety for National Express East Anglia, said: "This successful prosecution of a prolific graffiti vandal resulted from some excellent partnership working between our employees and the BTP. In conjunction with our BTP colleagues, we will take all necessary steps to eradicate the actions of those who vandalise trains which inconveniences our customers, as well as causing an unnecessary safety risk through lineside and depot trespass."

Martin was charged with and pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal damage and one count of cannabis cultivation. A further graffiti offence, at Grove Park depot in south London on 3 June 2010 was taken into consideration.

Remember tox?

I feel that this should be moved to the frequent posters area
Public disscusion might encourage these vandals, there best kept in the private area.

MAN BEHIND 'TOX' TAG JAILED FOR 27 MONTHS

A man who sprayed graffiti in London and across England, causing disruption to passengers and damage to the railway has been jailed for 27 months.

Daniel Halpin (24), of Camden, North London, was jailed at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday, 15 July after he was earlier found guilty of seven counts of criminal damage.

Halpin and five others were arrested after a British Transport Police (BTP) operation identified tags in London, Glasgow, Bristol, Leicester, Market Harborough, Kettering, Chippenham, and even on a funeral home in Bath.

Halpin sprayed graffiti on buses in Brixton, and on rail property in Southfields, as well as in Glasgow and Linlithgo between 2007 and 2010.

The court heard how officers discovered various documentation proving that unemployed student Halpin had been paid vast amounts of money to reproduce his tag and that he was also given a holiday to Thailand to work in a graffiti studio.

Daniel Fenlon (25), of Luckwell Road, Bristol, was convicted of one count of criminal damage after spraying a shop front in Park Street, Bristol, on December 25, 2008 and was sentenced to two months imprisonment. He was earlier cleared of eight further criminal damage charges.

Also sentenced was Nicholas Rowley (24), of Clapham, south London, who received 12 months imprisonment after admitting six counts of criminal damage.

At his trial Halpin denied 13 counts of criminal damage. He was convicted of seven but cleared of six.

At charge the total amount of damage was estimated to be in excess of ^200,000.

Detective Constable Will Livings, the investigating officer, said: ^The costs of graffiti are substantial for the railway industry in terms of repairs and clean-up, and can leave permanent scars on the infrastructure. The financial costs have to be borne by someone, and that someone is ultimately the fare-paying passenger. Trains are taken out of service for cleaning, sometimes for days at a time, causing disruption and delays for passengers.^

Sentencing today, Judge Clarke said: "There has to be a deterrent aspect. These offences have gone on, in your own admission, since the year 2000. You have been using TOX for a decade. Therefore I am sentencing you accordingly. Although you and others regard yourselves as artistic, there is nothing artistic about what you do."

Superintendent Andrew Ball said: ^Lets be clear, this is a crime on a large scale with real victims. It is planned and well organised with the sole intention of causing as much damage and disruption to passengers as possible. Graffiti also involves serious risks to those who go onto the tracks, often not knowing when a train will come or if the tracks are live."