A VANDAL who covered the borough with graffiti claims he did it
all in the name of art.

Jake Devenney told Dartford magistrates his motive was to
"brighten up the town" after he breached a three-year ASBO
preventing him from spraying graffiti in Gravesham.

But the 18-year-old's controversial artwork which caused nearly
£1,800 worth of damage landed him a 12-month community order and a
two month overnight curfew with electronic tag, which he believes
is "unfair and embarrassing."

The youngster of York Road, Gravesend, who must pay £100
compensation and carry out 100 hours unpaid work, said: "I didn't
think they would give out tags to people like me. I feel like I'm
being classed as something I'm not. I didn't know the seriousness
of breaching an .

"The reason I graffiti is because I would much rather see a wall
painted nicely than a bland or dirty one. It is more
interesting."

Following the punishment handed out at Dartford Magistrates
Court, unemployed Jake has decided to curb his criminal damage and
seek a legal way of expressing himself.

Is graffiti art or a nuisance?

GRAFFITI alone costs the council £26,000 per year in materials
to remove it.

The anti-graffiti team will remove it from council property
(like council houses) and private property provided it has the
owner's permission.

Residents can report incidents to the council's graffiti task
force who will aim to remove offensive graffiti within 24 hours and
other damage within two working days.

Graffiti can be reported to the council by calling the customer
services line on 01474 337000.

Alternatively email customer.services@gravesham.gov.uk or text
GRAFFITI to 07781 480521 together with the location of the
graffiti.