Ashington man who spray painted sculpture by Angel of the North creator cleared of criminal damage

A man who spray painted a controversial city centre sculpture by Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley has been cleared of criminal damage.

James Evans was accused of vandalising the Clasp artwork, which was loaned to Newcastle University and was installed on King's Walk, between the students' union building and Northern Stage.

Mr Evans always denied the offence - said to have caused a £27,000 cleaning bill - and pleaded not guilty on the basis he believed the artist would not have minded what he did.

While he admitted spray painting it and uploading pictures of it to his Instagram account, his defence was that he honestly believed Sir Antony would have consented to it.

Now the 26-year-old, of Norham Road, Ashington, has been found not guilty by a jury after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in which he was represented by Brian Hegarty.

Clasp, a 4.5m stack of iron blocks said to be worth £300,000 and part of Sir Antony's Blockwork series, proved controversial among students when it was installed

Grey in colour when it first arrived, the sculpture has slowly turned a rusty colour, a transformation designed by the artist as “an organic response to environmental conditions”.

The sculpture, at Newcastle University, was sprayed with paint (Newcastle Chronicle)

While university bosses said they were "honoured" to host the work, a Change.org petition set up by students after it was installed said it "has ruined the aesthetic of the campus".

We reported previously how one student, who spoke to ChronicleLive anonymously, said: "I had just come out of lectures, I walked past it and saw what had happened.

"From what I've heard, people have quite mixed feelings about it. Some are saying it's vandalism, but more people are saying that the piece itself felt like a bit of an intrusion on campus."