VANDALS in Chelmondiston got a taste of their own medicine thanks to the village's very own brand of justice, it emerged today.Because instead of calling the police after youths scrawled their names in the freshly-painted bus shelter on Main Road, the community decided to punish them the old-fashioned way.
VANDALS in Chelmondiston got a taste of their own medicine thanks to the village's very own brand of justice, it emerged today.
Because instead of calling the police after youths scrawled their names in the freshly-painted bus shelter on Main Road, the community decided to punish them the old-fashioned way.
The youngsters were rounded up, given paintbrushes and paint, and told to clean up the mess they had made.
Ollie Lomas, who lives and works in the village, said: “The graffiti in the bus shelter built up over quite a while and there were a few things written on there which were a bit obscene, so the council decided to come to clean it up for us.
“The ceiling was painted black and the walls were painted white but while the paint was still wet a groups of kids came and wrote their names on the ceiling with the white paint.
“There were six names and the community has got together and managed to track down five of them.”
Mr Lomas, 20, said the youngsters, who caused the damage last Monday were then told that the police would not be called, but that they must clean up the damage themselves.
He said: “They have all taken it with a pinch of salt.
“Everyone is friends here and knows each other so we thought instead of getting the police involved we'd sort it out within the community.
“The kids were pretty honest and owned up and were pretty willing to do the painting once they realised they had been 'got'.
“I think it's better to do it like this. No harm is going to come out of it and they'll learn a lesson and I doubt they'll do it again.”
A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: "On this occasion the situation has been resolved at the satisfaction of all parties involved.
“However, Suffolk police would urge victims or witnesses of crimes or anti-social behaviour to contact the police so as not to put themselves at any risk.”
nDo you think the villager's in Chelmondiston dealt with the vandals in the right way? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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