Drunken Plymouth vandals hurled concrete through skylights

TWO drunken friends climbed on to the roofs of adjoining clubs and hurled fittings down through glass skylights, a court heard.

Rueben Bates and Galvestan Lathan, both aged 21, threw concrete blocks, air conditioning units and ventilation ducts into the buildings, Plymouth magistrates were told.

Presiding magistrate Lin Martin told them: "What you did was a really, really stupid thing."

The court heard that the pair caused thousands of pounds of damage, but the cost was met by insurers and the owners will have to pay only £250 each to cover the excess.

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Bates, of Alcester Close, and Lathan, of Stuart Road, both in Stoke, admitted causing criminal damage of an unknown value to Cues snooker club and Temptations lap dancing club in Union Street.

Gareth Warden, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said cleaners spotted the pair on the roof just after 7am on June 17.

He said Lathan and Bates had thrown units, ducts and blocks through the skylights into the two clubs.

Mr Warden said a witness chased the two men and they were arrested by police nearby.

He added the owners found CCTV cameras, a staircase, heat lamps, and a fire escape were damaged, as well as the skylights and the roof fittings.

Mr Warden said the two men, both part-time glass collectors in a nightclub, told police in interview they had gone for a drink after work.

He added they said they had seen an open gate to a fire escape and had used it to explore the roof.

Neither man has any previous convictions.

Andrea Parsons, for Bates, said: "Their drunken tomfoolery clearly got out of hand. It was not planned in any way."

She added that the friends thought the buildings were unoccupied at the time and the roofs were in a "fairly dilapidated state".

Mrs Parsons said Bates had drifted since leaving school and "needed direction".

Jodie Leonard, for Lathan, said: "He was extremely surprised and shocked at the value placed on the damage. He is not someone who normally behaves in this way. It was completely out of character."

The pair were originally charged with causing total damage of more than £15,000, but denied the offences until the figure was removed.

Magistrates gave them each 12-month community orders with 120 hours unpaid work. Bates will be under probation supervision for that time.