Teenager pleads guilty to stealing and damaging CCTV cameras at Eastbourne bandstand

Police were called by Eastbourne Borough Council on Friday (June 5) after a member of staff noticed a CCTV camera near the bandstand was missing and some others were damaged.

After checking the CCTV footage, a man was seen unscrewing the cameras between 9.20pm and 9.40pm the previous evening (Thursday 4 June). He managed to take one, damage another and tamper with two more.

The CCTV footage also showed the same man returning to the area shortly before 9am on Friday and attempting to take more cameras, but he was disturbed by a member of the public.

Police were called and they arrested the man nearby on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.

He was found in possession of a rubber CCTV mount and a screwdriver with distinctive white paint marks that matched one seen in the CCTV footage.

Zack Staniford, 19, a labourer, of Cavendish Place, was charged with theft and attempted theft.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on June 6. He was remanded on bail by the court for sentencing on July 1.

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