A vandal has been forced to pay more than £1,300 in fines and costs after they were caught daubing graffiti in four locations.
CCTV operators captured Alexander Taylor, from Folkestone, scrawling his tag across the underpass in St George’s Street in Canterbury city centre.
Canterbury City Council’s environmental crime team, graffiti officers and CCTV operators worked to trace the 24-year-old back to a vehicle parked in Ivy Lane.
The registered keeper of the vehicle was then invited to interview.
Margate Magistrates’ Court heard Taylor was linked to tags on Newingate House in Lower Bridge Street, a wall next to the entrance of The Beaney in Best Lane and the old Nason’s building in the high street.
All were breaches of the council’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
Taylor, of Paxton Avenue, pleaded guilty to all four offences after he was caught in May last year.
On Thursday, magistrates fined him £532 and ordered him to pay £200 costs, £365.12 compensation for cleaning costs and a victim surcharge of £213.
Cabinet member for community engagement, safety and enforcement Cllr Connie Nolan said: “Another tagger being asked to fork out a large sum of money must act as a warning to anyone tempted to scrawl across the city’s walls – we will track you down.
“Tagging isn’t harmless fun. It affects people’s quality of life and makes an area feel unsafe.
“And the cost of cleaning up after taggers and hunting them down could be better spent on other frontline services helping those in need.
“I pay tribute to the team behind this court case but also to our officers who cleaned off more than 5,000 tags across the district in 2024.”
