THE parents of two graffiti vandals jailed for causing thousands of pounds of damage on the railways are planning to appeal against their sentences.

Thomas Whittaker, 18, was sentenced to 12 months behind bars and Thomas `TJ' Dolan, 20, was jailed for 15 months on Tuesday when they appeared at Manchester Crown Court for causing around £13,000 worth of damage by spray-painting railway property across the North West.

Their devastated parents have now spoken out about the decision to jail the duo, calling them `talented artists' who `did not deserve to go to prison'.

They are planning to appeal against the severity of the sentences.

Whittaker, of Brocklehurst Avenue, Macclesfield, was jailed for 12 months. His parents Denise Whittaker, 40, and step dad Neil Buttery, 41, revealed he was due to start an art degree at university in just a few weeks time.

Denise said: "It is heartbreaking. I've had to cancel everything - he was due to start his graphic art degree at Liverpool John Moores in a few weeks and had it all sorted.

"I was really proud that he got a place at university, especially because he had to sit before a panel and explain to them he was awaiting trial, but they gave him a place anyway."

She added: "He knows he has done wrong but the sentence is very severe.

"They are not thugs they are intelligent people who would not harm anyone.

"Both sets of parents are by no means ashamed by what they have done.

"Tom wants to try and carry on with his art in prison and has asked me to find out whether there will be any courses he can do to keep up his skills while he's there."

Neil added: "We understand that they have done wrong and they are not blameless but the punishment should fit the crime.

Proportion

"You can get drunk and beat someone up and get an £80 fine, which shows how out of proportion the sentences are. They've not physically harmed anyone.

"This was Tom's first offence but they waited until the week after he turned 18 to arrest him and then put him through an adult trial and sent him to jail."

Dolan's parents, Tommy and Judy, of Leek Road, struggled to comprehend the 15-month sentence imposed on their son, who holds urban art workshops to help underprivileged children and was praised by the mayor of Manchester for his artwork.

Father-of-four Tommy fought back tears as he talked of his son's artistic abilities.

He said: "Everyone is just so shocked by the verdict, it seems so unfair. The work TJ does is amazing. He had only just come back from Dublin, where they paid for him to go and take part in an arts festival.

"People say that one day he will be famous. When he was asked to graffiti a model of a cow in Manchester for a festival, even the mayor told him that he was incredibly talented.

"My worry was always that the judge was going to make an example of them but these boys aren't criminals, they have never done anything else wrong."

Dolan also worked with underprivileged children in Manchester, holding urban art workshops to help youngsters build confidence

Tommy added: "TJ was just working with kids in Moss Side last week, some who were electronically tagged and only 11 or 12. I don't want to sound dramatic, but what are they going to do without TJ?"

"They are both so sorry about what they have done. But these are good kids, everybody loves them, they don't deserve to go to prison. People say that going to prison doesn't affect a strong person, but for a weaker person, it can break them."

Denise added: "Tom and TJ wouldn't harm a fly, they just love their art."

Whittaker, also a budding artist, had recently completed a BTEC diploma in graphic design at Macclesfield College, where he was praised by his tutors for his promising ability.

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