Merton Council has successfully prosecuted a graffiti tagger who defaced property belonging to the borough, Telewest and a privately owned car park.

Following a joint operation between Merton’s Graffiti Team and the Police, the 16 year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Wimbledon Magistrate’s Court in early July and was fined £150 and given a six months referral order.

Councillor Linda Kirby, Cabinet Member for Environmental Quality, said:

“I am very pleased with this result and I hope the individual concerned now realises he cannot go around Merton with a spray can defacing anything he pleases.

“We are working closely with the police in trying to stamp out this kind of anti social behaviour but our biggest asset in this campaign is the residents of Merton. We can only prosecute taggers and fly tippers if we can catch them.

“Anyone who sees people defacing public and private property or dumping rubbish or knows who they are, please call the Graffiti Team on 020 8545 4109 or the Fly tip hotline on 020 8545 4157.”