Student faces the music after jumping on cars in Leamington while playing the French national anthem

A student who jumped on a car bonnet in Leamington while playing the French national anthem has been made to pay for the damage.

Despite leaving the town to go back to France, police tracked the French student down and he has agreed to pay £710 for damage to a BMW 5 Series in Church Terrace and £710 for damage to a blue Suzuki Swift in Church Street.

The incident happened back in June when a large party was held in Priory Terrace.

Residents were kept awake by the noise - and then discovered footprints and dents on the cars the following morning.

Resident Bruno Eurich said his 80-year-old mother's car was one of the vehicles that was damaged.

He said people on the street had been suffering from ongoing noise for several months beforehand, culminating in the large noisy party on June 11.

In the early hours of the morning, more than 40 party-goers were counted streaming from the back alleyway.

"Shortly afterwards I heard a large bang beside my house followed by La Marseillaise being played loudly," he said.

"I thought nothing of it until the next day when I discovered footprints over my car and large dents in my 80-year-old mother’s car bonnet which was parked behind it.

"Thankfully my CCTV captured clear footage of the incident, including the French dialogue. Police forensics took evidence of the footprints and thankfully the police were able to interview the suspects and found the culprit who admitted liability."

Mr Eurich's CCTV showed the students playing La Marseillaise very loudly while jumping on the cars. He has now logged a complaint from the University of Warwick.

He added: "Warwick University said that they could do nothing to help since the student had graduated and left the country, despite my alerting them of the ongoing police investigation well before graduation certificates were issued.

"This illustrates the problems we face in south Leamington where Warwick University seems content to allow large groups of students to reside off-campus, effectively left to their own devices with no local landlord or letting agent controls.

He added: "Thus it is no surprise that neighbours despair when we hear about the proposal for yet another huge block for students by the railway station which will inflame the situation yet further, pushing the antisocial elements of 'student lifestyle' into the local streets."

Warwickshire Police said they received reports of criminal damage on two cars after neighbours heard a group of people climbing on top of the vehicles.

Officers said that a 23-year-old from Leamington agreed to pay for the damage via a community resolution order.

Neighbours also reported the group for breaching Covid regulations. In response to that, Warwickshire Police said: "Officers attended the following day, there were no breaches at the time they attended but strong words of advice were given to the occupant."

A spokesperson for the University of Warwick said: "The university is responding to the individual who has made this complaint, although as it is a police matter, we cannot comment further.

"We value our active, positive role in our local community – and we work hard to engage with our campus neighbours, providing support and opportunities as well as listening to their views and concerns. For example, we have introduced street marshals across Leamington Spa, in partnership with Warwick District Council, Warwickshire Police, and the Warwick Students’ Union. The street marshals steward the town, ensuring that it remains a safe and respectful environment, for the wellbeing of students and long-term residents alike.

"You can read more about our community engagement work on our web pages, and learn about different ways to contact the University regarding community concerns: https://warwick.ac.uk/about/community"