Prestwich man vandalised cars outside homes with Palestinian flags

Manchester Magistrates Court heard Kersh damaged the cars and a wall during late night dog walks

A dog walker who vandalised cars outside homes which displayed Palestinian flags has been given a community sentence, prosecutors said.

Elliot Kersch, 60, of Prestwich scratched two cars and spray painted a garden wall on late night walks, between October and December last year.

He told police he had found the flags "offensive and intimidating".

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the "targeted hate crime" caused "considerable upset and fear".

Kersch was sentenced to a 12-month community order at Manchester Magistrates Court and he was also given a year-long restraining order, the CPS said.

He was ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to three charges of racially-aggravated criminal damage.

Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have been at war since last October.

It began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza. An Israeli military campaign has followed, which has killed thousands in the Palestinian territory.

CCTV footage

The court heard how Kersch carried out the vandalism on late night walks in Prestwich with his dog, the CPS said.

He first spotted a Palestinian flag outside a home in the town in October, and damaged the owner's BMW over two months until every panel had deep scratches.

In December, he spray painted the garden wall and car belonging to another homeowner who displayed the flag, with some of the incidents captured on CCTV.

Kersh admitted causing the damage but claimed he was not racist.

Senior prosecutor Joseph Seale said the CPS had applied for an uplift to his sentence to reflect the "racial aggravation of the offences he committed".

"Everyone has the right to exercise peaceful freedom of expression without fearing they will be targeted."

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