Cyclist jailed for tyre slashing spree
Press Association
Friday April 16, 2004
The Guardian
A cyclist who slashed almost 2,000 tyres in a spate of revenge attacks on
"inconsiderate motorists" was sentenced to 16 months in jail today.
Ashley Carpenter, 37, left a bill of £250,000 after damaging the tyres of
548 cars, lorries and vans parked in Christchurch and Bournemouth during the
10-day vandalism spree.
He launched his one-man campaign after a car nearly knocked him off his bike
and another drenched him after driving through a puddle, Bournemouth crown
court heard.
Carpenter, of Walpole Road, Boscombe, in Dorset, went round on his bicycle
at night in December 2003 armed with a sharpened screwdriver and punctured
1,728 tyres.
Recorder Stephen Lennard said the five weeks Carpenter had already spent in
jail would be taken into account and he would serve half the sentence before
being released on licence.
Mr Lennard said: "In December last year, motivated by frustration and anger
at what you considered to be the inconsiderate manner of motorists as
experienced by you as a cyclist and a pedestrian, you embarked on your
astonishing and extraordinary campaign.
"In your own words to the police, to send out a message to motorists and to
immobilise and inconvenience as many as possible.
"In a period of 10 to 11 days, armed with a sharpened screwdriver, probably
sharpened for the purpose, you went out and punctured 1,728 separate tyres
on 548 different motor vehicles in Bournemouth and Christchurch."
He added: "The scale of the damage and the financial consequences of it are
breathtaking."
Mr Lennard said the damage had cost £97,000 in tyre repairs alone, not
taking into account hotel bills and alternative methods of transport needed
by the victims.
Unemployed Carpenter admitted eight charges of criminal damage at
Bournemouth magistrates court on March 24 and asked for 540 other offences,
involving 497 vehicles in Bournemouth and 43 vehicles in Christchurch,
between December 12 and 22, to be taken into consideration.
He was arrested on January 30 after police analysed footage from CCTV and
later found a sharpened screwdriver in his flat. Defence counsel Robert Grey
described Carpenter as "very much a loner" and "socially inadequate". He
said Carpenter lived alone, had no children, no relationship and no close
friends.
"He had not been able to discuss his frustration with others. This man is
socially inadequate," said Mr Grey. "He perceived a number of incidents of
inconsiderate driving by motorists towards him. He says that twice he was
nearly knocked off his bike by motorists and on another occasion he was
subjected to verbal abuse by passing car drivers.
"Things built up and came to a head when he lost control ... he says it was
to inconvenience other car drivers."
A spokeswoman for the AA, Rebecca Reef, said, outside court, that
pedestrians had legal protection against inconsiderate drivers and did not
need to resort to criminal damage to "get even".
Miss Reef said: "Mr Carpenter could have chosen a simple and more lawful way
to get even. Had he gone to the police after he was splashed by the car, the
driver of the vehicle could have been fined £2,500 and received up to nine
penalty points on his or her licence for driving without due care and
attention.
"If a driver ignores a cyclist and causes them to fall off or be injured, if
they drive in a manner which causes that, they can get a £5,000 fine and
five to 10 points on their licence."
The pedestrian or cyclist would need witnesses or CCTV footage to back up
the claim, she said. Vehicle owners were also obliged under the Road Traffic
Act to declare who was driving at the time of any alleged incident.
"This serves as a helping hand to cyclists and as a warning to drivers who
think it's a laugh to go through puddles that they are actually risking a
fine," added Miss Reef.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "Carpenter resented the
inconsiderate manner in which motorists treated him as a cyclist on the
roads. He wanted to send out a message to motorists which immobilised and
inconvenienced as many of them as possible.
"We all work and live in the community and, at the time, we shared the
growing feelings of worry and concern as more cars were damaged night after
night. We are pleased that our work with the police brought Carpenter to
justice."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004