Footballer pays price for vandal spree

The captain of an English Premier League club has admitted causing thousands of pounds of damage to cars parked near the home of his team’s arch rivals.

Lee Cattermole, of Sunderland FC, accepted a conditional caution for vandalising five vehicles parked in Stowell Street in Newcastle’s China Town.

Team-mate Nicklas Bendtner was originally also charged with the offence, but the case against him was dropped.

The Crown Prosecution Service said by accepting the caution,Cattermole would have to reimburse all of those left out of pocket by his actions, a figure in excess of £4,000.

Clare Donaldson, head of CPS North East’s magistrates’ court unit, said: “Through the action taken we have ensured that all of the victims in this case have been swiftly reimbursed for the damage caused by Cattermole’s irresponsible actions.

“By accepting the conditional caution, he has also accepted his guilt in relation to all five vehicles, something that may have taken longer for us to prove.”

Cattermole, 24, from Aislaby, Teesside, damaged the cars close to Newcastle’s stadium during a night out in December.