A TEENAGER is counting the cost of his actions after he threatened to vandalise a police car.Nadeem Khan, 18, of Grove Lane, admitted threatening to damage the vehicle in the town's Reynolds Road on December 28.

A TEENAGER is counting the cost of his actions after he threatened to vandalise a police car.

Nadeem Khan, 18, of Grove Lane, admitted threatening to damage the vehicle in the town's Reynolds Road on December 28.

He made his threat the day after a police car needed £2,000 repairs after it was smashed up in the same road, a court heard.

The court heard the day before police received a call-out to an unrelated shop theft in Reynolds Road.

When they returned to the car they found two of its tyres had been slashed, the panels were dented, hub-caps were removed and the front windscreen was smashed, said prosecutor Godfried Duah.

Mr Duah said: "The next day police officers saw Khan with a group of friends who were behaving in a very disorderly manner and were approached by the officers."

The court heard Khan swore at the officers before adding: "I am going to smash up another police car like I did last night." He then ran away.

Mr Duah told magistrates sitting in Ipswich: "I mentioned the incident on the 27th because it gave grounds for the officers to believe that the threat was going to be carried out."

Dino Barricella, mitigating, said there was "no evidence whatsover" that Khan was responsible the shop theft or for smashing up the car.

He said Khan swore and said: "I'm going to smash up the police car just like the one that was smashed up yesterday."

The court heard the remark was made out of "frustration" because he felt he was being manhandled by police.

He added: "It was a flippant remark made in the heat of the moment. It was very much out of character. He had no intent whatsoever about causing criminal damage.

"He was 20 ft away from the car and once he said it he ran off. He clearly wasn't going to damage the vehicle."

Magistrates fined Khan £40 and ordered him to pay £40 towards prosecution costs.