Man who trashed poppy display during drunken rampage has been jailed – National
A man who trashed a remembrance display at a cenotaph has been jailed.
Ashwani Kumar, aged 54, of no fixed address, has been locked up after admitting to throwing 50 poppy wreaths into the road in Swindon.
Police discovered the mindless act of vandalism in the early hours of Saturday and an appeal was launched on social media for any witnesses to the damage.
Kumar was arrested the following day after CCTV footage had been obtained which showed him committing the offence.
He appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court via video link yesterday and was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.
Superintendent Adrian Burt said: ‘Kumar's actions have quite understandably shocked our local community and caused a lot of upset, disgust and shock.
‘While intoxicated, he has ripped a large number of wreaths from the cenotaph and thrown them around - a completely mindless act of vandalism, showing no respect for those servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
‘We completely understand that tensions are running high as a result of this incident and we would urge people to please remember that this was the act of an individual who has now been reprimanded for his actions.' As well as the prison sentence, Kumar was ordered to pay £115 to fund victim services.