Tearaway teenage tagger handed ASBO (From Times Series)

Edgware tagger handed two year ASBO after causing hundreds of pounds of damage

7:30am Wednesday 17th February 2010 in News By Alex Hayes

A NOTORIOUS teenage tagger who has left his mark on dozens of walls costing the council hundreds of pounds to remove has been handed an ASBO.

Sebastian Salach, 18, of Station Road, was spotted putting his tag on walls in Colindale, Finchley and Edgware by council CCTV staff as part of a joint operation with police.

The cost of clearing his graffiti has been put at £700 alone and officers believe he worked with a gang of other taggers responsible for thousands of pounds worth of damage.

At Hendon Magistrates Court last week he was handed a two year ASBO which bans him from possessing anything to perform graffiti or from associating with another man.

He was also fined £150 and ordered to spend 18-hours at an attendance centre, in a bid to get him to address his offending behaviour.

Councillor Joanna Tambourides, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Community Engagement, said: "Graffiti is one of those types of anti-social behaviour that can really affect people's impression of an area.

“Large amounts of damage are often caused by a very small number of people, so taking one of them to court should have a great impact."

Barnet Police Aanti-social behaviour co-ordinator acting Sergeant Jo Krelle asked the public to help them enforce the ASBO.

She added: "An ASBO is an effective tool to combat anti-social behaviour but we need the help of the community - if anyone spots an individual breaching an ASBO, please inform the police immediately so that we can take the appropriate action."

If you have any information on graffiti taggers, call the council in confidence on 020 8359 7399.