A TEENAGER who spray-painted graffiti on the side of a Perth bank was yesterday fined £500 at Perth Sheriff Court.

Mark Higginbottom (19), of Highfield Place, Bankfoot, admitted that on February 12 at the Royal Bank of Scotland, South Street, Perth, he spray painted the building with the graffiti tag “NSA.”

Depute fiscal Lucy Keane told the court the estimated cost of damage was £1000.

She said the area covered was seven feet by 10 feet.

The court had heard a nearby resident contacted the police after seeing Higginbottom on a roof next to the bank at 2.30am, spray-painting a wall.

Officers attended and found the wall covered in graffiti.

Higginbottom was still at the scene, with a bag containing seven aerosol paint cans and wearing gloves with paint on them.

David Holmes, solicitor for Higginbottom, said his client was “immature” and accepted he had committed the crime.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis asked the teenager, “How much of your income do you spend on paint?

“This isn’t exactly a little area—it measures 70 square feet. No matter the value or the cost to rectify this, you spray-painted more than a minimal area.”