CHARLIE SILVER’S 10-week sentence for causing £1,600 of graffiti damage came after he was found with a stash of pens, paint and spray cans.

Silver was arrested in November after trying to run away when officers asked him to stop, a court heard.

Prosecuting Billal Malik told Banbury Magistrates’ Court that officers discovered marker pens, spray cans, paint and paint-stained clothing in his black rucksack.

Mr Malik added: “Police found three permanent marker pens, some tags, these are tags that are a template, a logo that is used to inscribe graffiti on walls.

“Other instances of graffiti with a similar inscription were found and linked back to him.”

The 24-year-old, who is currently serving 28 months in jail for drug dealing, admitted six counts of criminal damage at a hearing in July.

However, on the morning of his trial on Wednesday Silver admitted a further two counts of criminal damage and one count of having an article with the intent to damage property.

The charges relate to graffiti tags being scrawled across Oxford, causing an estimated £1,610 of damage.

Silver admitted damaging a wall at Aristotle House, in Aristotle Lane, as well as walls in Kingston Road and Frenchay Road in North Oxford. He also pleaded guilty to damaging two lamp posts in Hayfield Road, graffitiing JACKfm’s headquarters in Woodstock Road, as well as damaging Frideswide Bridge and Walton Well Road bridge.

Silver, of no fixed abode, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court in April after admitting possessing MDMA, hallucinogen 2C-B and cannabis with intent to supply.

Warwick Clarke, defending, said his client had turned over a new leaf since being jailed, was going to the gym, and had secured graphic work for when he is released.

He added: “He is an intelligent and very capable young man, his grandfather is a professor of mathematics at Oxford. But something has gone wrong.”

Appealing for as short a sentence as possible Mr Clarke said that the damage was not of the most extreme nature.

He added: “This is not the most extreme case, walls didn’t come down, things were not broken, no one was hurt, things weren’t smashed.”

But presiding magistrate John Kearsey said: “While there was no actual physical damage on the walls, graffiti does tend to degrade the environment, it makes people feel less safe, that’s why the law is quite strict on this.

“We have decided that these offences are so serious only a custodial sentence was justified.

“It was part of a spree, it was all over the place.”

Silver, who has four previous convictions for graffiti, was jailed for 10 weeks, to run concurrent with his existing sentence, and fined £508.

Two further counts of criminal damage were left to lie on the file.