Youth caught vandalising council vehicle with warden inside

Red-handed: young man was spotted vandalising council van on vehicle’s own CCTV

A young man was caught by surprise when graffitiing a Hackney Council CCTV van in Shoreditch, only to realise a council warden was sitting inside it.

In the early hours of Saturday morning (13 August), a young man in Shoreditch chose the van as the target for his graffiti ‘tagging’. The male was detained within minutes after the community safety warden inside the vehicle observed the act of vandalism via the van’s CCTV system. He was charged with criminal damage.

The suspect was detained within minutes

The incident took place between French Place and Dareham Street, an area in Shoreditch where hundreds of fines are issued for urinating in public. The council CCTV van was present as part of an initiative to help reduce this problem in the neighbourhood, which is popular with revellers.

14 community safety wardens patrol Hackney 24 hours a day. Wardens have the power to issue fines for antisocial behaviour such as illegal street trading, urinating in the street, littering, noise, dog fouling and graffiti.