Judge praises 'talented' graffiti gang before jailing them for damage to trains

Graffiti, stock image. Getty

A graffiti gang who caused £150,000 worth of damage to trains in planned attacks were described by a judge as 'talented artists' before he locked them up for a combined total of nearly four years.

The Daily Mail reports that Keiron Cummings, 21, Alex Rowe, 22, and Billy McColl, 17, targeted train and Tube carriages across London in a three-year campaign described as vandalism on 'an industrial scale.'

The trio, who called themselves 'SMT', caused huge disruption to train services by spraying their tag onto carriages.

Judge Henry Blacksell said the defendants had 'talent' and that he would pass the 'least possible' sentence.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard how the gang members bragged about the damage they had caused by posting pictures and videos of their work online.

Prosecutor Jacques Howell said Cummings even had a map of the capital's rail network in his bedroom pin-pointing the raids, with the words 'you need all this and more' written above it.

'This was a planned and prolonged campaign of damage to property of an almost industrial scale, and caused considerable cost and disruption to London Underground and national rail services,' he said.

'It's not simply tagging with marker pens. The scale we are talking about is the entire carriage being daubed.

'The aim is obviously to get kudos amongst the graffiti community.'

They were caught when British Transport Police launched an investigation to try to stop a huge increase in graffiti with the SMT tag.

The trio were found three times carrying pant, face masks and gloves between January and June at Northwood, Watford and Ealing stations.

Judge Henry Blacksell said that while he understood the public's frustration at the damage caused by the vandals, he did not want to jail them.

'I will pass the least possible sentence,' he said.

'These are young men and people care about them.

'I don't endorse it but I understand the adrenaline rush and the feeling it gives them and they may be isolated in their families.

'I don't want to be doing this and I will by as lenient as I can be. They've got talent and some of Mr Rowe's portfolio you would be proud of.

'Clearly they are talented artists,' he added.

Cummings, of Ruislip, was sentenced to two years in prison, Rowe, of Stantonbury, was handed nine months and McColl, of South Ruislip, was sentenced to a six-month youth detention training order.

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