Sutton teen forced to vandalise car with angle-grinder because he owed a favour

Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard CCTV recorded 18-year-old Alfie Houldsworth as he scaled the fence at Vertu Volkswagen, Chesterfield Road North, Mansfield, on March 1, at 4.10am.

Alexis Mercer, prosecuting, said: “He walked around the site before putting something into his pocket.”

He cut a square out of the bumper of the blue Golf, causing £3,660 of damage, with an angle-grinder taken from his girlfriend's shed.

He was traced and interviewed the same day, telling police he was forced to do it because he owed someone a favour.

Ms Mercer said: “They would beat someone up for him. He denied it had any connection with drugs."

Houldsworth, of Elderfield Drive, Sutton, admitted criminal damage.

Houldsworth, who represented himself, said: “I was in a bad place at the time and needed a bit of cash. That's about it.”

The court heard he has no previous convictions. A probation report said he was at low risk of re-offending and recommended he would benefit from rehabilitation days.

At the time he was homeless and unemployed. He is now working in a full-time job, living with his partner and is about to become a father.

Sentencing, magistrates told him: “You need to grow up a bit.”

Houldsworth was ordered to pay the full cost of repairs in compensation and given a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation days.