A TEENAGER who damaged cars in a spate of vandalism has been sentenced.

A 17-year-old from Barrow was convicted at a youth court after he damaged two cars in Dalton.

He was forced to pay compensation to three people following the incidents, which happened between November 17 and 18.

The boy was also referred to the Cumbria youth offender panel for six months when he was sentenced at South Cumbria Youth Court.

Among those whose car was damaged was Claire Murphy, who said her windscreen appeared to have been stamped on while it was parked near Dalton Leisure Centre.

Reacting to the sentence, she said she did not bear a grudge against the boy.

“I don’t know what kind of background he had,” she said.

“You don’t know what people are going through.

“It might sound crazy but at the end of the day it was repairable.

“At the time I was extremely angry and couldn’t use my car for four or five days.

“But with everything we’re going through now you keep perspective.”

Mrs Murphy said there had been no further trouble with vandalism since the incident.

The court ordered the teenager to pay her £145 in compensation for damaging the windscreen of her Honda CRV.

The youth was also told to pay £60 in compensation after damaging a Peugeot Allure owned by Keiron Moscrop.

He was also ordered to pay £109.99 for damaging a CCTV camera belonging to Thomas Rigg.

He admitted all three charges when he appeared before magistrates.

The court allowed his parent or guardian to pay the money owed at a rate of £100 per month.

Magistrates noted that the teenager had shown remorse for his actions when deciding the sentence.

Police said a blue Mazda also had its windscreen smashed, a red Mini had its wing mirror broken and black Vauxhall Astra also had its wing mirror broken on the night.

Damage happened in Chapel Street, Fair View and Nelson Street.