Graffiti vandal jailed for a year

Jul 10 2012 by Lawrence Poole, Buckinghamshire Examiner

A GRAFFITI vandal who daubed a plethora of businesses, canals and train stations and has been described as one of the Tube's most prolific offenders, has been jailed for a year.

Former Amersham and Wycombe College art student Harry Conway spray painted his tag 'ZeRX' on numerous local shops and restaurants close to his home in Liddell Gardens, of Kensal Rise, and was believed to be part of the 'YAM' crew that stood for Young And Mad or You Ain't Much.

He was sentenced on July 4 at Harrow Crown Court where Judge John Anderson told him: "This is a three year period where you applied graffiti on both public and private properties, damaged London Underground and railway property, British Waterways property - some of them permanently - and caused damaged to commercial and residential property. It was a value of some £70,000.

"To say more about what you have done, and what I have seen in photographs of your work, would be to entrench this course of offending and give it some sort of dignity, of which it is completely devoid, and in reality is nothing more than deliberate, persistent and shabby vandalism.

"It blights society and costs a significant amount of time and money to put right."

The unemployed 22-year-old, who has completed a foundation art course at Amersham and Wycombe College, admitted on June 6 at Harrow Crown Court 13 counts of causing criminal damage while another three counts he denied were ordered to lie on file.