'Bored' teenage girls cause £11k damage to 24 cars

Two schoolgirls caused more than £11,000-worth of damage to 24 cars during a wrecking spree in Stourbridge, a court heard.

The youngsters, aged 12 and 13, scratched the vehicles in Wollaston with a stone because they said they had been "bored", Dudley Youth Court was told.

Magistrates ordered their parents to pay back a total of £2,300 – 20 per cent of the damage – in compensation.

The court heard that the girls, who cannot be named due to their age, were seen by a resident just minutes before the damage was discovered in Wood Street.

The cost of repairs went as high as £1,500 for a Jaguar X Type, while other vehicles included a Land Rover Freelander.

Mr Barry Sealeaf, prosecuting, said most of the owners had ended up paying for the repairs themselves.

One of the girls said in court: "We were bored and had nothing to do so we thought it would be funny to scratch some cars. We didn't realise the seriousness of what we were doing."

Magistrate Mr Ken Slater said it would have been "futile" to order the parents to pay the full £11,457 costs as compensation as they would be unable to afford it.

The girls, who admitted 24 charges of criminal damage, were put on a nine-month referral order by magistrates.

After the hearing, Selina Mackie, one of the victims, said it was "frustrating" she had to pay £987 to repair her Land Rover, but would only get 20 per cent back. "I would have liked them to come and meet everyone and say sorry," she said.