A TEENAGE vandal who wrecked a £50,000 bronze sculpture was caught after pictures of him climbing on it were posted on Facebook.

Jack Kennedy, from Asthall Leigh, near Witney, who was on a night out in Bristol, pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court to criminal damage.

The 18-year-old was caught after he befriended two teenagers from the city who saw him commit the damage and they added him as a friend on Facebook.

When they read about the vandalism in the Bristol Evening Post the next day and saw the pictures on Facebook they contacted the police.

The artwork, called Aspiration, was on show outside the Royal West of England Academy in Clifton.

It was made by local sculptor David Backhouse and had been on display for less than a month when it was vandalised in the early hours of Sunday, May 29.

Mr Backhouse said the sculpture was beyond repair and had to be destroyed.

May Li, prosecuting, said that the two witnesses began chatting with Kennedy and a friend, who were both very drunk, at about 4.45am.

She added: “They saw him climb up the statue and grab hold of it. He then began shaking it backwards and forwards. When it broke he fell backwards on to the ground and was bleeding from his elbow.”

The court heard on Tuesday the group later exchanged details and added each other on Facebook.

Ms Li added: “On Kennedy’s Facebook page were pictures of him climbing the statue and him standing near the damage.”

Giles Tippett, defending, said: “This was a regrettable but reckless act. He is fully aware of the severity of what happened.”

Kennedy, who had no previous convictions, will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on July 19.