A SERIAL graffiti vandal has been jailed after causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to train depots and stations in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Sam Moore, 24, of Newport, Isle of Wight, was sentenced to 26 months behind bars at Blackfriars Crown Court on November 18.

He was also handed a five year anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) after pleading guilty to 25 counts of criminal damage between March 2007 and July this year after an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Moore was a prolific graffiti tagger who caused £113,000 worth of damage to trains, stations and bridges across 13 London boroughs.

He targeted Lillie Bridge Depot, in Lillie Road on two occasions, which cost £5,900 to clean-up, while graffiti at Hammersmith Station cost £1,242 to clear and Moore's vandalism at Hammersmith Depot cost £2,489 to remove.

Detective sergeant Jeremy Walley, of BTP's graffiti unit, said: "Moore's vandalism was nothing more than wanton damage that costs thousands of pounds to clean up.

"Writing graffiti on the railway or elsewhere is not a harmless pastime and we will continue to work closely with the train operating companies, Network Rail and other police forces to reduce these criminal acts."

BTP investigators linked a 'tag' against a police graffiti database to Moore and arrested him in June this year after a raid on his temporary home in Elephant & Castle.

After being released on bail, he continued his graffiti spree in Ealing and Barking before he was charged in July.

His most expensive attacks were on a train at Kings Cross which cost £34,434 to clear and on a Plumstead train which cost £9,228.

As part of his ASBO, Moore is not allowed to carry paint, permanent marker pen, shoe dye or glass cutting equipment anywhere in England and Wales or to enter any depot or bridge not open to the public.