A "full of bravado" gang of graffiti vandals behaved as "idiots" after trains and engines were sprayed with "tag" names. Images of the colourful graffiti were shown in court as five men were sentenced for causing criminal damage on Thursday (March 2).
Judge Mark Watson told the defendants - three from Nottinghamshire - these were "acts of rebellion" and amounted to "acts of showing off" by each of them. Carriages and engines were tagged with initials across the East and West Midlands, hitting the network as a whole, and leading to vandalised trains being taken out of service and cleaned up, costing thousands of pounds.
In many cases, the offenders trespassed on to the railway - not only putting themselves in danger but others who might try and stop them - and left the operators with the inconvenience of removing rail stock from service. The acts of criminal damage involved a high degree of planning and premeditation - using the cover of darkess and clothing to avoid detection - sometimes across live railway lines to stationary engines.
