Teen told to pay charity £20 after scarecrow vandalism

A number of people were seen punching the scarecrow at around 11pm on July 5 and the 18-year-old was spotted pulling it to the floor and ripping its legs off.

The group was challenged and the youth ran away, but was detained by an off-duty policeman after a short chase.

The youth, who is believed to be local to Battle, later challenged police Inspector Lee Lyons via microblogging website Twitter over whether the police response had been ‘disproportionate’.

Insp Lyons said: “When police officers, on or off duty, see a crime taking place their is an expectation that they will take action. On this occasion the suspect was held for a short time at the police station whilst enquiries were undertaken, following an interview he admitted the damage to the scarecrow and he agreed to a community resolution. Local communities expect instances of disorderly or criminal behaviour to be challenged by police in a firm but fair manner. A few days later I entered into a debate with the man in question around the proportionality of the police response on Twitter, it was robust but amicable and I welcomed the opportunity to hear his views on the incident.”