A man who repeatedly vandalised a Sliema house facade was only caught when he left a paint bucket with a sticker bearing his name, a court heard yesterday.

Joseph Grech, 46, from Sliema, denies throwing paint at the house on three occasions in June, causing more than €2,100 in damage.

It is alleged that Mr Grech, who said he was a government worker, vandalised the facade after the house owners demanded payment for a cane window blind that was damaged while he was working on a house next door.

Police Inspector Jonathan Ransley informed Magistrate Aaron Bugeja that Charles Azzopardi had reported the vandalism on June 13 after his elderly mother, Sheila, found black paint on her house in Depiro Street. He and his siblings painstakingly cleaned the mess with an anti-graffiti solution.

Ten days later, his mother told him black paint had been thrown and, on June 30, blue paint was splattered on the facade, the front door, a window and louvres. There was a bucket of blue paint on the pavement, which had a sticker with Mr Grech’s name on it.

Some time later, Mr Grech was seen walking close to the Sliema police station wearing clothes stained with blue paint, the officer said. The suspect was arrested and, during questioning, admitted he had committed the vandalism.

He told the police that, a few weeks before, while renovating the house next door, he had dropped a roller into the Azzopardis’ yard, damaging a cane blind for which they wanted €30.

He said that every time he remembered what he had to pay for the blind, which he thought was a hefty price, he would throw paint at the facade.

Mr Azzopardi told the court that his mother was not sleeping well at night out of fear and the family had installed a CCTV system to nab the vandal. The family also found that someone had urinated against the front door.

The case continues.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Angie Muscat appeared for the accused.