IF a vandal causes damage and they're caught, surely their punishment should include paying out to cover the cost of the repairs.

So I'm confused by the sentence given to Amber Randall, who helped to smash a shop window in Worcester.

Randall, now 18 but 17 at the time of the offence, was given a conditional discharge and told to pay £130 compensation and a £20 victim surcharge, after she admitted committing criminal damage by throwing a rock at the window of Connect2Vapes in Broad Street.

But the shop owner, Andrew Connellan, says he had to spend £300 to replace the smashed window. So surely Randall should have been ordered to pay a total of £300 in compensation.

You could argue that Randall – and the two other culprits, who are yet to be convicted – should also have to pay towards the £700 that Mr Connellan spent on increasing the shop's security as a result of feeling vulnerable due to their vandal attack, but that may be a touch harsh.

No wonder Mr Connellan called her punishment 'a slap on the wrist'.