A reveller who threw a party at an empty home which was being renovated and covered it in paint has narrowly avoided jail.
Reckless Martyn Harvey, 21, invited dozens of rowdy guests to the property after spotting it was vacant.
He had managed to get the front door key from a friend who had previously rented the house in Plymouth, Devon.
The home’s owner, a married couple, had temporarily moved out while they carried out extensive renovation work.
But Harvey and his fellow party-goers descended on the house and held a party – and then threw paint all over the kitchen and utility room.
Harvey, who was heavily drunk, poured white paint on the floor, work surfaces and even inside the cooker and washing machine.
He then painted the word ‘YOLO’ – an abbreviation of ‘You Only Live Once’ – on the inside of a window, Plymouth Crown Court heard.
Harvey, of Plymouth, Devon, admitted burglary by entering the home as a trespasser with intent to do unlawful damage between April 14 and May 2.
He was sentenced to twenty weeks in jail suspended for two years.
Judge Paul Darlow said: ”This was a mean and nasty act of vandalism.
”The fact you were drunk in all probability makes matters worse.”
Harvey will be under probation supervision for 18 months, must complete 220 hours unpaid work and will be under curfew at home every night for the next four months.
He was also ordered to pay £500 in compensation to the property owner.
Prosecutor Alistair Verheijen said Harvey had managed to get the key to the £180,000 home in Plymouth from a friend who had previously lived there.
He added police traced Harvey by fingerprints left on a can of cider.
Mr Verheijen said the estimated cost of clearing up the mess was £1,000.
Nick Lewin, defending, said: ”This was an act of stupidity rather than pure criminality. It is not worth throwing away the key on him yet.
”He is not rotten, if he goes to prison he runs the risk of becoming rotten.”
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
