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Graffiti vandal ordered to clean up his mess
THE writing is on the wall for Bridlington's most prolific graffiti vandal.
David Butterworth has been brought to justice but, rather than going to court, he has to clean up his act – literally.
He has been ordered to remove graffiti, using just a scrubbing brush and some good old-fashioned elbow grease, from more than 70 spots he damaged.
And the teenager – who used the tag name "Did" – told the Free Press the punishment was a far better deterrent than anything the courts would have dished out.
He said: "I apologise. It is hard work cleaning it all off. I'm paying for what I have done now. I've learnt my lesson."
Butterworth, 19, went on a vandalism spree in Old Town last month, defacing a number of buildings.
He even taunted police by writing "still running" and "who am I?" on a wall behind Lloyds Pharmacy, in High Street.
But a tip-off from the public helped officers to identify him and when they questioned him he admitted attacks stretching back almost a year.
As well as the Old Town vandalism, he had also struck on the south side and in the shelter near Ebor House.
Instead of going down the traditional route of starting court proceedings, Butterworth was offered a conditional caution, which meant he did not end up with a criminal record as long as he completed the clean-up by a set date.
PC Jason Scotter said: "It's taken a long time and lot of hard work trying to track him down.
"With the information we had, and the information from a member of the public, we went to see him and he admitted being responsible for the graffiti.
"It will take him quite a while to clean it up and it will be good, hard work. But all his victims we have spoken to have said the punishment is a great idea."
One of the buildings which was targeted was the Lord Feoffees office in High Street. Although they painted over the graffiti straight away, clerk Rod Linegar said: "If the police are able to catch the culprits quickly, I think it is a good way of teaching them a lesson."
And police are keen to use more conditional cautions in the future, issuing this warning to other graffiti vandals.
"There are three more people, who may have been more minor offenders, but we have identified them and they know we are coming for them," said PC Scotter.
Another prolific offender – who used the tag names "Spok" and "Pest" – was captured earlier this year and vandals who plagued Bempton were also tracked down.
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Weather for Bridlington
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
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