Anger remains over graffiti

A Selwyn business hit in a shocking spate of graffiti wants to know why the offender is not doing community service for his crime.

Ellesmere Butchery was one of eight businesses that, along with the St John's Church hall, were tagged in November.

Damien Turner, 27, of Leeston, pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court on January 18 to nine charges of wilful damage and one charge of cultivating cannabis.

He has been ordered to pay reparation of $950 to the premises he tagged.

But Ellesmere Butchery owner Chris Brown said money is not enough.

"I think certainly there are people who are out of pocket and he should be forced to [pay]. But also there should be some sort of community service. We're a proud wee town and he should be out there in the public. Whether it's lawn mowing or a bit of painting, he should have to do something."

Hillyers of Leeston manager Amanda Beswick agreed with Mr Brown.

"It's not really a punishment. All he's doing is paying for his crime with money.

"We've had no apology."

The bakery suffered the most damage in the tagging spree, totalling around $300 according to police.

Said Mrs Beswick: "I was surprised and shocked. You don't get a lot of tagging on that scale in Leeston. And they'd gone to a lot of effort to get up that high."

Said Mr Brown of the graffiti: "It was stupidity. I didn't see the point in it. You know, you've got young guys who go out and get a bit raucous but graffiti, there was nothing even art about it."

Mr Brown had one message for Turner: "Grow up. Grow up or go away."

According to police, around $200 damage was caused to the butchery.

Mr Brown said: "The whole facade had just been rebuilt and we basically had to repaint it from scratch."

He said he tried to steam clean the tagging off at first, before employing a painter to remove it.

November's tagging was only removed from Hillyers earlier this month, said Mrs Beswick.

"It took a long time to get it cleaned off, it's hard to find workers," she said.

Mr Brown had yet to hear from the courts and was not hopeful about getting the full $200 back.

"It's fixed now. To be honest with that sort of thing you never expect to get your cost back. But if I do get something that'll be great."

Other businesses contacted by the Selwyn Times had yet to receive any money from Turner.