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Hooded vandals forced to redecorate tree (Pic: PA)
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A hooded gang who vandalised a town's Christmas tree were made to redecorate it again just moments later after being caught on CCTV.
The yobs had ripped £100-worth of fairy lights from the tree in Bridgwater, Somerset, but were marched back to the scene of the crime to repair their handiwork by police officers.
Today Sedgemoor District Council shamed the yobs by releasing CCTV images to the media of them being forced to make amends.
The youngsters had been spotted attacking the tree by a sharp-eyed CCTV operator at about 7pm on Monday, November 25.
Armed with descriptions, officers tracked them down within a few minutes and by 7.30pm the red-faced gang faced the ultimate humiliation of carefully redecorating the tree again.
The grainy images of the teenagers in action were released by the council in a further blow to the youths' already dented street cred.
CCTV supervisor Mike Porter said: "They thought they could get away with it, but we called the police who found them just around the corner.
"Then half an hour later we got to see them again, but they didn't look very happy as they were made to hang the lights back up in front of their mates."
Copyright Press Association 2006.
