VANDALS claiming responsibility for recent arson attacks have challenged police to catch them. Black graffiti discovered on Port Soif kiosk yesterday morning bragged of burning sheds in St Martin’s and taunted officers for failing to stop it.
Signed by a gang or group calling itself GSC, the text-style messages read, ‘Sheds burnt by us in St Martins, Hitlar is bak, better luk nxt tym’ and ‘catch us if you can’.
Crime prevention officer PC Bernie English responded by laying down a challenge of his own.
‘I’d like to challenge the people of Guernsey to help us find who is responsible,’ he said.
‘I think incidents like this show how the fabric of our society is being undermined.
‘It is the responsibility of all of us to prevent this from happening. You don’t want the island subjected to this kind of damage.’
The kiosk attack took place late on Monday night or early on Tuesday morning. PC English did not rule out connecting them with arsonists who struck in February, when six properties fell victim to suspicious fire attacks in the space of a week.
It has also emerged that a 4×4 parked in Etournellerie Lane, Vale, was tagged with GSC. A shed there was destroyed by fire at the weekend.
‘It is difficult to say. Although one person has admitted to one of the arson attacks, there’s a strong possibility that those responsible for the damage caused in St Martin’s are still at large.
‘I don’t know what GSC means, but I’m open to suggestions. It may be the initials of someone, or a gang.’
Port Soif kiosk has been targeted by vandals in the past. Manageress Jan Jeffrey was disgusted by the attack.
‘I’m just in total despair - you just think, what on earth do we do next?’
Ms Jeffrey called on politicians to take a tougher stance and make an example of them.
‘I think it’s time they took a different view - they should adopt a zero-tolerance policy.
‘They get let off lightly and think it’s pretty cool in their eyes to go around doing this. That’s why they’ve got to catch them and make an example of them.’
It is the most graffiti sprayed in a single attack on the kiosk. Ms Jeffrey had no idea who was behind it, but had her own views on the meaning of GSC.
‘Guernsey stupid children, perhaps - because it’s only the stupid ones who would bother to spray graffiti.
‘They ought to have some form of counselling. We need to show them what it does to people and make them clean it up at their own expense. What people forget is that we are inadvertently made to clean it up through taxes.’
Beach kiosks are owned by the States and managed privately. The graffiti was removed yesterday afternoon.
Ms Jeffrey said she had appreciated everyone who had come down to talk to her about the incident.
* A substantial reward is available to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest of those behind the arson attacks earlier this year. Crimestoppers can be contacted in confidence on 0800 555 111.
Article posted on 4th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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