Three men have been jailed for carrying out a six-year graffiti campaign that caused £250,000 of damage to trains across the north of England.

Jack Rodgers, 26, of Bramble Grove, Pool-in-Wharfedale, James Steward, 27, of Mitchell Close, Simpson Green, Idle, and Daniel Jay-Webster, 25, of Stanningley Road, Armley, were given eight-month sentences at York Crown Court.

All three had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

The court heard that the trio were part of a graffiti ‘crew’ called NKA who, between 2003 and 2009, had worked together to daub graffiti – using the tags Ogre, Hack and Twok – on trains throughout the north including Skipton, Leeds, Harrogate, and Wakefield.

Investigations by British Transport Police (BTP) also revealed that damage had been caused to trains and property in London, Bristol, continental Europe and even the Far East and Australia.

PC Tony McGibbon, who investigated for BTP, said: “These three vandals, as part of a prolific graffiti crew, are jointly responsible for about £250,000 of damage that was caused to trains and stations across the country between 2003 and 2009.

“They cared little for the impact their wanton destruction would have on others and were only interested in enhancing and furthering their own reputations among the graffiti vandal fraternity.

“Some people argue that graffiti is art and not vandalism, but when the graffiti is written or sprayed, without permission, on private or public property then it loses any artistic credibility and becomes a criminal act.”

BTP were fully alerted to the activities of the three vandals when five men were disturbed spraying graffiti on a train in Harrogate in February, 2009.

Two managed to escape, but three – Rodgers, an Italian man and a Portuguese man – were arrested.

Steward and Jay-Webster were also found to have been involved in the offence and were later arrested.

The subsequent investigation found evidence which linked Steward, Rodgers and Jay-Webster to their tags and the train damage.

PC McGibbon said: “This case should serve as a stark warning to those who get their kicks from destroying the property of others.

“BTP takes graffiti extremely seriously and officers will use any tactics at their disposal to trace offenders and bring them to justice.

“The sentence handed out also clearly demonstrates that the wider criminal justice system recognises the damage caused by graffiti vandals and will bring strict sanctions to bear against anyone found guilty of the offences.”