A vandal caused thousands of pounds worth of damage in Dorchester after going on a graffiti spree which included daubing anti-police slogans.

Liam Heeley targeted shops, public spaces, a police station - and the much-loved horse statue at Brewery Square on which he sprayed 'ADHD R US'.

Heeley has been landed with a bill of more than £4,000 after being ordered to pay compensation to the victims in the case.

Heeley, 20, appeared in Weymouth Magistrates Court to plead guilty to ten counts of criminal damage, and for having an article with intent to damage property - a can of spray paint.

This relates to incidents which were reported between March 21 and March 27 this year.

Heeley, who was born female but identifies as male, has lived at addresses across Dorset including Weymouth and Portland.

The defendant appeared at court via video link from HMP Eastwood Park women's prison in Gloucestershire where he is serving 12 months for assaulting five police officers and a doctor.

These took place between November 2023 and May 2024, in Weymouth, Dorchester, Wool and Poole.

Read more: Man jailed after series of assaults on five police officers and doctor

Regarding the acts of graffiti, Nicola Reece, prosecuting, told magistrates that Heeley had mainly spray painted  'ADHD R US' and 'I smell bacon, u smell grease, everyone run it’s Dorset Police'.

Heeley graffitied locations including Dorchester Police Station, Trinity Street, Brewery Square, the Borough Gardens, the Tudor Arcade, the Hardye Arcade and South Terrace.

At the time, Steve Newman, Town Clerk for Dorchester Town Council said the graffiti was 'hugely disrespectful'.

Cllr Alistair Chisholm said that the horse statue in Brewery Square is a ‘symbol of the town’ and ‘beautiful in its own right’ and added that he was sad to hear that it had been vandalised.

(Image: NQ)

Ms Reece said: "All of these offences basically deal with him spraying graffiti."

Ms Reece told the court that Heeley had been spotted by a member of the public spraying graffiti in Brewery Square at around 5am. The member of the public took photos of Heeley, which police used to identify the defendant.

Read more: Shock over 'hugely disrespectful' graffiti sprayed across town

Ian Brazier, mitigating, said: "He has been in and out of the system on and off for quite a few years.

"The reality is that he is a young person with a considerable number of issues."

Mr Brazier told the court that the tagging took place over a short space of time, likely only a few nights or even a single night.

The chair of the magistrates' bench, Helen Busby, said: "We are going to deal with all these by way of compensation."

(Image: NQ)

Heeley has been ordered to pay compensation to each of the victims, totalling £4,345.44.

He must pay £1,728.70 to Brewery Square, £377.74 to Dorset Police, £594 to Tudor Arcade, and £645 to the South Terrace victim. He must also pay £200 to each of the five remaining victims of vandalism.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said after the case: "Neighbourhood Patrol Team officers understand the effect which graffiti can have on local communities and the wider area. 

"We encourage residents and visitors to report incidents of graffiti – especially if it is offensive in nature – via the Dorset Police website https://www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101. 

"We will continue to work with our partners to tackle this problem and take positive action against suspected offenders."