A man tagged Swindon town centre buildings with ‘Covid lies’ and other words and phrases, a court heard this morning.
Paul Dawson, 43, appeared before magistrates charged with a single count of criminal damage in November last year – which he admitted.
Crown prosecutor Kate Prince said the defendant, of Croft Road, had used a black marker pen to write various phrases on buildings, including the Swindon Borough Council-owned Tri Centre.
Some of his offending phrases were: “Covid lies”, “New World Order” and “Masonic lies”.
Dawson was identified by town centre CCTV cameras covering the area. He was later spoken to by the police and admitted what he had done. However, when he was booked in for an interview at the police station, he did not attend.
The cost of the clean-up operation was estimated at £1,500 by the council, who asked for compensation for the costs incurred to remove the tags.
Defending, advocate Liz Highams said her client suffers from schizophrenia, which he is medicated for.
She believes the nature of Dawson’s messages left in graffiti are likely to be a “symptom of his mental health issues”.
Hearing the defendant was unemployed and on benefits, magistrates said it was “unjust” to make him pay the entire amount of the taxpayer-funded clean-up. They imposed a compensation order of £250.
