A VANDAL tore down a CCTV camera a day after it was installed to make an elderly woman feel safe.

Maynul Hussain admitted ripping down the camera after mistakingly calling at the 83-year-old’s home in Benfleet and realising he was being filmed.

The family of the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, only installed the camera the previous day, after a burglar broke into her house and exposed himself in January.

Hussain, 19, of Dove Drive, Benfleet, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage when he appeared in Southend Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Glenda Thompson, prosecuting, said: “Her family decided they would install CCTV, so if there were a return of the offender or any other incident, it would be captured on CCTV. Her son-in-law installed the CCTV, but the following day this defendant’s face was captured on it.

“He appeared at the front door of the address, appeared to tamper with the CCTV and moments later the picture disappeared.”

The court heard unemployed Hussain had been drinking in a nearby park, before deciding to call on a friend called Jason.

He knocked on the woman’s door, but was told no one of that name lived there.

When he realised he was being filmed, he tore down the camera and threw it into a ditch.

He was fined £135, £105 in court costs and ordered to pay £28.99 compensation for the damage to the camera.

Emma Grewock, defending, said: “Perhaps the only aggravating matter in this situation is the lady is elderly, and thus potentially vulnerable.”

Police confirmed a man had broken into the same address on January 23 and exposed himself.

Officers later arrested a man on suspicion of sexual assault, but released him without charge because of a lack of evidence.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “It remains an undetected crime.”