Woman caught on CCTV damaging car and urinating in Sunderland street

The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.

Marie Clark, 57, of Churchill Avenue, Southwick, Sunderland, attacked the Chrysler motor for no apparent reason overnight on Saturday, April 11.

She used the stone to strike the windscreen, bonnet and trim of the 2007-plate vehicle, causing an estimated £800 of damage, magistrates in South Tyneside were told.

The incident was recorded on neighbourhood CCTV – as was her act of urinating at the same Ridley Street location, also Southwick, soon afterwards.

The court heard that Clark had ‘drunk a lot’ after she found out her sister had died.

Prosecutor Kirstie Devine said: “On April 11, [the owner] left his car parked with no damage.

“The next morning there was damage to the trim around the driver’s door, the windscreen and the bonnet.

“CCTV revealed the defendant as being responsible. It showed that she had picked up a rock from a garden and had hit the vehicle a number of times.

“CCTV then showed that she had urinated in Ridley Street.”

In a victim personal statement made immediately after the attack and read to the court, the vehicle owner said: “The incident means that I can no longer use my vehicle until it is repaired.

“This affects me because my son has autism and he likes his routine.”

The court heard Clark, who pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage and urinating in public, has 17 previous convictions from 23 offences.

Annalisa Moscardini, defending, said: “She pleads guilty at the first opportunity. She accepts that she doesn’t really remember the offence at all.

“On the day in question she had found out that her sister had died. She had drunk a lot.

“She is very sorry for what she did. The other matter is incidental.

“She would welcome some help from the Probation Service now. The sentence is a low level community order.”

Magistrates agreed that the sentence was within the threshold of a community order at low level.

They adjourned the case for reports and granted Clark unconditional bail to appear at the same court for sentencing on Friday, August 14.

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