A church-going vandal who caused more than £52,000 damage to trains and station buildings has been jailed for 18 months.

Branding Thomas Stanley "an unrepentant graffiti vandal", a judge said he had caused disruption to trains and passengers and a possible hike in fares.

It was ironic, he continued, that the 25-year-old university student was seeking to dissuade young people at his Evangelical church from the sort of behaviour he had indulged in.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Stanley, of Silver Hill, Tenterden, sprayed his intricate designs on trains at sidings in Faversham, Ashford and Folkestone, as well as buildings at stations in Manchester and Redhill, Surrey.

Martin Yale, prosecuting, said Stanley’s graffiti tag AMUK had appeared on trains and buildings for a number of years and varied in the level of complexity.

Stanley, whose parents are teachers in Ashford, belonged to a 'crew' known as KYS, members of which would go out to daub their graffiti together.

"KYS stands for a number of things, one being Killing Your Streets," said the prosecutor.

Police searched Stanley’s home and found photographs of graffiti damaged trains.

Officers also discovered around 200 spray cans, satellite images of railway lines and stations and train pictures.

Stanley denied 12 charges of damaging property but was convicted. He declined to go into the witness box to give evidence.

Judge Andrew Patience QC told him: "You are undoubtedly a highly talented artist and can work well, as references from your university show."

But he added he had to pass an immediate prison sentence because of lengthy period of the offences and the value of the damage.