Vandal scrawled ‘X Factor’ and her name on cenotaph

A vandal who scrawled ‘X Factor’ - and her own name - on Manchester’s cenotaph made an X sign as she was led from court in a wheelchair.

Parisa Motei-Tehrani, 33, admitted defacing the city centre war memorial in St Peter’s Square.

She wrote ‘Parisa Marie’ and ‘X Factor 2018’ on one of the cenotaph walls in ‘mascara’.

Motei-Tehrani appeared before magistrates earlier this month. She fell ill and had to be led out of court in a wheelchair by paramedics.

As she passed waiting photographers she made an ‘X’ sign with her arms.Motei-Tehrani reappeared before a judge on Wednesday, where she was sentenced her to 100 hours of unpaid work.

A judge told her she had upset ‘an awful lot of people’.

The incident, at around 3pm on January 22, was captured on council CCTV cameras.

Operators described Motei-Tehrani to police, who quickly tracked her down and arrested her shortly after, not far from the memorial.

The wall appeared to have been vandalised with some kind of black marker, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.

Motei-Tehrani, of Sutherland Road, Heywood, Greater Manchester, claimed it was mascara.

She told the court she was ‘deeply sorry’, having pleaded guilty to criminal damage at the earlier hearing.

Caitriona McLaughlin, defending, said:

District Judge James Hatton told Motei-Tehrani:

Motei-Tehrani was sentenced to a 12 month community order, with 100 hours unpaid work and five days rehabilitation with the probation service.

Speaking outside court, she said:

The town hall’s city centre spokesman Pat Karney said: