TWO young men on a drunken “vandalism spree” in York left a trail of 10 damaged cars behind them, a court heard.

Billy Johnson and another man smashed wing mirrors and damaged a bonnet and a car door as they worked their way along a line of parked cars in a residential street, said District judge Adrian Lower.

“Both in drink … engaged in a spree of vandalism,” he said at York Magistrates' Court.

Their actions alerted at least one householder in Grosvenor Terrace, Clifton, and Johnson was “rather robustly” detained until police arrived.

“This was a thoroughly anti-social series of offences which very much affects the quality of other people’s lives,” the district judge told Johnson.

“Nobody wants to live in a neighbourhood where vehicles are going to be damaged by people who don’t know how to behave.”

Johnson, 22, of Crombie Avenue, Clifton, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of criminal damage.

He was given a 12-month community order with a 10-week nightly curfew between 7pm and 6am and 160 hours’ unpaid work, ordered to pay £270 compensation to three of the car owners, £85 prosecution costs and an £85 statutory surcharge.

The district judge said he would have ordered all the owners to be compensated but they had not given him exact figures about the loss they had suffered.

For Johnson, Chris McGrogan said: “This series of incidents is out of character. The lesson he has learnt will mean he won’t be appearing before this or another court in future.

“He is very remorseful.”

Johnson had personal problems that led to him drinking too much that night, the court heard.

Since then he had given up drinking altogether and didn’t go out at weekends or in the evenings.

He had also got a job and managed to secure an apprenticeship after four years of trying.

A second man has denied 10 charges of criminal damage and is awaiting trial.