The British Transport Police has announced that a man who cost train operator, Transport for Wales, nearly £7,000 in damage after painting graffiti on trains and stations, has been jailed.
Rufus Budd, aged 25 was involved in six incidents between 23 November and 5 December 2019, where he targeted trains, stations, platform shelters and ticket machines in South Wales including Wildmill, Ninian Park and Grangetown railway stations.
Rufus was arrested on 5 December, and when searched, he was also found to have a knife on his possession.
On 27 January, Rufus pleaded guilty to six counts of causing criminal damage by spray painting and one count of possession of a bladed article.
Yesterday, he was given a 16-month sentence and a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).
The CBO, which will be in place until further notice, stops Rufus from travelling on the rail network without a valid ticket and bans him from having spray paint on the rail network in England and Wales.
What did the officials say?
Investigating officer, PC Craig Farrell said:
“Graffiti is not a victimless crime – it is in fact vandalism, which has huge financial implications for the rail industry and the trains people travel on.
“Budd is a prolific offender who has caused extensive damage at a number of locations. I hope this sentence sends a clear warning that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated on the railway, and these offenders will be brought before the courts.”
Simon Turton, Head of Security at Transport for Wales Rail Services, added:
“A huge amount of work takes place every single day to keep our trains and stations looking their best for the communities we serve. So, when we do suffer vandalism it is really disheartening.
“We want people to be proud of their local station, which is why we've been investing £194 million in our stations and supporting our community station adopters and the brilliant work they do.
“We hope that this sentence will send a real message that we will not tolerate this kind of vandalism and will work closely with our British Transport Police partners to bring those responsible to justice.”
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Get them cleaning up the mess
Ridiculously harsh sentence, hats off to the cleaning contractors for managing to extort TFW with those trumped up costs. I’m sure if it was Banksy you would all be commending the artwork whilst the local authority rushes to protect it.
I knew the guy, he did a lot worse than what he was sentenced for. Probably 20 times more damage than he was charged for.
This is what a brain dead person looks like no good to the human race!!!!!!!!!
Make him pay for it.
Pursue it through the courts if necessary, why should anyone else be out of pocket?
If he’s got no money sell any assets like TV, Games Consoles etc to cover it.
Absolute thug. That mugshot of him looks like he has been causing trouble recently and he’s known to the police for his disgraceful behaviour.