Yobs guilty of £80,000 car yard damage which 'almost destroyed'

Shane Gordon, 29, said his Rochford business was almost destroyed by the mindless vandalism which saw 60 car windows smashed, tyres slashed and paintwork damaged.

Now, 15 months later, three teens who admitted causing the damage have appeared at court, one of whom was sentenced to time in a young offenders’ institute.

Mr Gordon said: “It’s been a horrific year. I had to remortgage my house and put about £60,000 back into the business to fix all the cars and sell them on.

"It was really difficult in the beginning but I thought I’m not going to let the business fold and get a nine-to-five because I’ve always wanted to work for myself and I didn’t want to let them win.

“If you do then that defines you but I just worked really hard seven days-a-week and managed to turn it around and it’s now going really well. I’ve got 100 cars now.”

The three teens, a 15-year-old, a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday where they admitted criminal damage to the value of more than £5,000 and taking a moped.

The 15-year-old was also convicted of a further 15 offences including breaching youth rehabilitation orders, actual bodily harm and various counts of theft.

He was sentenced to ten months detention.

The 13-year-old received 12 months probation and must pay £105 in court costs and the victim surcharge.

Neither defendant was ordered to pay compensation because they do not have any money.

The 14-year-old has yet to be sentenced for the damage caused at the business on Purdeys Industrial Estate, Rochford.

Mr Gordon added: “It goes to show kids that if you do this kind of thing, you will get caught and punished but I will never get back what I lost.

"If it were up to me they would be paying £5 a week until I got it all back.

"If people could help me by supporting my business at least i may be able to get something positive out of all this."