A teenage vandal who trashed the public lavatories at St Michael’s recreation ground is to be asked to pay up.

The parents are to be written to by Tenterden Town Council requesting the £250 insurance excess that the authority is liable for.

The unnamed teenager, who is under 18, was traced after CCTV images were printed in the Kentish Express.

The toilets were damaged last August. Cistern lids were smashed and a urinal and hand dryer ripped from the walls.

At a town council meeting on Monday, mayor Cllr Robin Wade said that the person responsible for the damage had been caught on CCTV and identified. Because it was a first offence, he was cautioned rather than charged.

Cllr Wade said: “Do we want to go ahead with an insurance claim, knowing that it will affect our renewal premium?

“We have to pay our excess which is £250. I think it would be reasonable to write to the miscreant’s parents and ask for the £250, otherwise taxpayers will have to foot the bill.”

Councillors were told that the total claim for the damage was around £1,600. and Cllr Roger Finniss supported asking the parents for the money, saying it was a small price to pay.

Deputy mayor Cllr Jennifer Crickmore-Porter agreed, adding: “It means they pay a bit for the crime.”

Cllr Wade added: “The parents may blow a raspberry at us.”

Councillors agreed to go ahead with the insurance claim and to try to recover the £250 excess from the teenager’s parents.