By Ross Lidbetter

ross.lidbetter@essnmedia.co.uk

A GRAFFITI vandal who is just 4ft 3ins tall has been jailed after a huge graffiti spree which caused more than £40,000 of damage.

Matthew Mandell targeted buildings, trains and stations around London and the South East, including a railway bridge near South Croydon train station.

The 27-year-old's "IMAGE" tag was found scrawled across 11 London boroughs, as well as in Hertfordshire, West Sussex and Kent.

The offence in South Croydon is only known to have been committed between January 1, 2009 and January 14 this year.

Mandell also carried out various attacks at Crystal Palace station between March 7, 2009 and March 3 this year.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard the vandal, who pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage, went on a two-year graffiti spree.

Mandell, of Castleton Road, Mitcham, was sentenced to nine months in prison following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

He was also given a five-year antisocial behaviour order when he was sentenced on Tuesday.

DC Colin Saysell, of the BTP's Graffiti Unit, said: "Vandals like Mandell who commit graffiti offences often believe that their work is art.

"Sadly when the chosen canvas is railway property it cannot be considered art and is nothing more than wanton damage that costs thousands of pounds to clean up.

"Writing graffiti on the railway or elsewhere is not a harmless pastime and we hope the sentence handed down to Mandell acts as a deterrent to other like-minded individuals."