Court orders tagger caught on camera to pay £1,300

Tag on a wall in Canterbury

A tagger has been forced to pay more than £1,300 in fines and costs after admitting daubing graffiti in four locations across Canterbury city centre.

Magistrates in Margate heard that Alexander Taylor of Paxton Avenue, Folkestone, was captured defacing the underpass in St George’s Street, Canterbury, with his tag by CCTV operators in May last year.

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.

On Thursday (23 January), the court was told how Taylor was then linked to tags on Newingate House in Lower Bridge Street, a wall next to the entrance to 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 pleaded guilty to all four offences. Magistrates fined him £532 and ordered him to pay £200 costs, £365.12 compensation for cleaning costs and a victim surcharge of £213.

This case follows that of the Mr Slime tagger who was ordered to pay £1,500 in fines and costs in November.

Tag on the old Nasons building in Canterbury

Cllr Connie Nolan, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Safety and Enforcement, 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.”

Published: 29 January 2025

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