A local man who caused £10,000 of damage to Burnham-On-Sea’s Marine Cove gardens has been jailed.
Jesse Thorne pleaded guilty to criminal damage when he appeared at Taunton Crown Court and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
It follows a night of damage at the seafront gardens in October 2013, pictured here.
A spokesperson for Sedgemoor District Council said on Monday: “We would like to thank Avon and Somerset Police for their diligence with the case and bringing the culprit to justice.”
“We would also like to make special mention of the Sedgemoor District Council CCTV staff who on the night of the incident used CCTV to record the vandalism, alert Police and then track the offender as he left the scene.”
“This evidence and support to the Police proved invaluable on the night of the event and during the prosecution process and has resulted in a successful conviction.”
Two light columns were toppled, complete with stone foundation slabs, a Windsor Heritage lantern was shattered on its standing light column, and two tiers of stone paving were torn from the steps leading to the lion’s fountain.
Other damage included two timber benches being ripped from their ground fixings and thrown into the pool, and the centrepiece cherub in the pool also being damaged. The sundial was also pushed over and the dial removed from its plinth.
The spokesperson said the £10,000 of repairs had been funded by the council.
Sedgemoor’s staff launched a clean-up operation after the incident
The scene of the damage in Marine Cove
