A MAN filmed by his friends destroying hanging baskets has been landed with an £80 fine for criminal damage ... after an off-duty policeman spotted the footage on the internet. Police revealed how the officer was at home surfing the net when he came acr

A MAN filmed by his friends destroying hanging baskets has been landed with an £80 fine for criminal damage ... after an off-duty policeman spotted the footage on the internet.

Police revealed how the officer was at home surfing the net when he came across the popular MySpace site with a 46-second screening of a man tearing down flower baskets in the centre of Chatteris.

"Basically, the officer then recorded the footage on his mobile phone for evidence and later went round to the premises," said Insp Robin Sissons, sector commander for March.

The culprit was identified as Jonathon Skeggs, whose father Richard owns the Cross Keys Hotel, in Chatteris, and is a former town councillor.

Insp Sissons said an on-the-spot £80 fine was issued for criminal damage, but any claim for compensation would be a matter for a civil action.

"To be fair, we would not have detected this had it not been put on the website," he said.

"It turned out to be very useful time spent by the officer - a brilliant piece of work."

A Chatteris reader who alerted us to the footage said: "I'm sure those who work their socks off for 'In Bloom' would love to see how some people in the town behave.

"These young people need to be punished for what they have done. The very fact that this video is still available for online viewing, with the comments posted with it, suggests they feel no remorse."

- Wednesday's finals of the Anglia in Bloom, Chatteris won silver gilt - a step up from last year's silver. Town mayor Councillor Sue Elam said: "We're definitely under pressure for next year.