A Watford man who insisted it would be “pointless” to slash all four tyres of a police car has been found guilty of criminal damage.

Magistrates were shown CCTV of a man bending down next to a police car and moments later the vehicle could be seen changing angle as the tyres deflated.

Later the same procedure was carried out by the same man, who was identified as Brett Timlett - a Watford man well known to police from previous dealings.

At St Albans Magistrates Court Tuesday Yasmeen Malik, prosecuting, put it to Timlett that the man seen bending down on CCTV slashing the tyres of the police car parked in New Street, Watford, on Friday, June 12 was him.

Timlett, of Thorpe Crescent, Watford was identified less than a month later, from the CCTV pictures, by Inspector Andrew O'Connor.

In the three sets of images the man was seen to go behind the car and dart down, slash two of the marked police car's tyres and walk off.

The same man returned sometime later and carried out the same procedure to the two remaining tyres.

Inspector O'Connor told the court he was “positive” the man in the CCTV was the same person he has seen around Watford for more than 20 years.

37-year-old Timlett gave a ‘no comment’ interview when arrested after his identification by inspector O'Connor.

However, he took to the witness box to profess his innocence, saying that his bad back would not enable him to move as easily as the suspect pictured in the CCTV.

He said: “It is not a movement I could freely do with the force it would take to slash or put holes in the tyres.”

“It seems pretty pointless too,” he added.

Under cross examination by Miss Malik the defendant admitted he may have been in the area but denied he was the man on the CCTV.

He said: “All I can say is I am not denying I am in the vicinity.

“All I am saying is I am not the person that did the damage to the tyres.”

Timlett was found guilty of causing criminal damage to four police tyres to the value of £181.92.

He was released on bail for sentence on a date to be set.