ROMEO, ROMEO... YOU'RE UNDER ARREST ROMEO.

Chris Austin, a graphic artist, appeard at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday: he was accused of vandalism.

In 1997, when the Cooper family moved in next door to the Austins, Chris and Jackie used to walk to school together every mornig.
Jackie was Mr. and Mrs. Cooper's daughter, and she got on very well with Chris.
A few years later, Chris and Jackie had fallen in love and were going out together; but then the two families fell out and so the Coopers moved to a new house miles away.
The young couple continued seeing each other in secret, but one day in July Mrs Cooper found out about the relationship and stopped Jackie from going out: Chris decide to prove how much he loved her. He had pulled up the roses from the Cooper's garden and used them to write "I love you" on the lawn. When Mrs Cooper called the police immediately and Chris was arrested. He was taken in front of Nottingham Crown Court and admitted committing the crime. He justified his behaviour with love, but the judge said that it was no excuse.