Engineer causes £260,000 damage with catapult attacks during morning commute

  • London
A fishing catapult. Terry Jones, 61, 'fired at the building because it was there' he told Southwark Court. Credit: Reuters.

A 61-year-old man who fired ball bearings from a fishing catapult out the door of his van at a building in Paddington has been given a suspended sentence after causing £260,000 worth of damage.

Terry Jones, an engineer from Croydon, passed 3 Sheldon Square in Paddington as he passed every morning on his morning commute. Over a period of five months, Mr Jones loaded his catapult and fired randomly at the building and then drove off.

He shattered 13 panes of glass in the building, which is home to a fitness club, a hotel, and the headquarters of Prudential UK. Each pane of glass cost £20,000 each to replace.

Mr Jones was arrested last March after police found him via his number plate. His lawyer, Mark Sahu, said the only reason he chose that building as because it was in his line of sight.

After admitting 13 counts of criminal damage, Mr Jones told the Evening Standard he had no idea why he did it.

Jones has been given 12-month sentence suspended for a year, ordered to pay £2,000 compensation and do 240 hours of community service.