A VANDAL who ransacked a man’s home and went on the rampage through York has been jailed.

Gareth Jenkins left a trail of damage to parked cars that would cost at least £9,000 to repair, said Stephen Welch, prosecuting.

The vandalism began when the jobless 21-year-old broke through the front door of a council flat in Navigation Road, off Walmgate, in the early hours of February 25.

Jenkins, of Markham Crescent, off Haxby Road, York, smashed the bathroom door, television and a cabinet, and left water running, causing water damage.

After leaving the flat, he kicked a car in a “frenzied” attack, said Mr Welch, and jumped up and down on the roof and bonnets of other cars.

Altogether he damaged eight cars in Rosemary Place, off Walmgate, in Stonebow and in St Saviourgate.

Three weeks earlier, he and two accomplices had tried to break into the same flat in the early evening by banging on its windows and door.

Judge Guy Kearl QC told Jenkins: “Custody is the only option.”

He jailed him for 11 months. Jenkins pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary and nine of criminal damage.

In addition to the jail term, he was barred from having any contact with the flat’s resident.

His barrister Taryn Turner said Jenkins had learning difficulties and believed the flat’s resident had been saying unpleasant things about him and a member of his family. He had been drinking and had taken drugs before acting in the way he had.

She said: “He is a young man who perhaps needs help and understanding, given his limitations.”

Mr Welch said values of the damage to individual cars ranged from £200 to £2,000 and the damage to the flat was estimated to cost £1,500 to replace items or put right.