35-year-old graffiti man was 'bored of being a dad'
A man from Margate, England, defaced walls, doors and fences with graffiti because he was "bored of being a dad".
Aaron Pugh was tracked down by a Kent police officer after the initials he used as a tag spray were spotted on his social media profile.
The 35-year-old admitted five offences of criminal damage and asked for another 34 to be taken into consideration when he appeared at Margate Magistrates' Court earlier this month, a Kent Police spokesman said.
Pugh, of Hertford Road, Margate, told police he had turned to graffiti as he was bored of being a father.
He sprayed the tag MCK, sometimes followed with the number 729, in various colours in bubble-style writing, damaging walls, doors and fences across Thanet, particularly on the Millmead estate, police said.
Pc Steve Lewis said: "The tag was appearing more and more often towards the end of last year and we had information to say that the man responsible was called Aaron.
"Pugh was traced and arrested in December last year after his social media profile was seen to include the letters MCK."
Pc Lewis worked with Thanet District Council and East Kent Housing (EKH) to build a case against Pugh.
Mandy Gibbens, EKH's Millmead neighbourhood manager, said: "Graffiti can really blight an area and this person was persistently and deliberately causing criminal damage that was costing thousands of pounds of local taxpayers' money to remove.
"We are delighted that through effective partnership working this case has been brought to justice.
"I'm sure local people will be reassured that tough action is taken against those few people who recklessly graffiti at tax payers expense."
Pugh was ordered to carry out a 12-month community order which includes 150 hours of unpaid work, police said.
