A boy of 12 has apologised to an entire village for vandalising a historic wall.
The boy, who lives in Rottingdean, Brighton, admitted hammering through the flint surround at Kipling Gardens, where Rudyard Kipling lived from 1897 to 1902 and wrote some of his best-known stories.
In an open letter to villagers, the boy said: "Im sorry for destroying the wall. I will not do it again because I have learnt my lesson.
"I hope you can forgive me."
Inspector Steve Curry said: "The boy has never been in trouble before and I hope he never will be again.
"He has been given a severe reprimand. His parents were very upset."
When police tracked the boy to his home a sergeant asked him: "Do you know who owns the wall?"
Thinking of those exceedingly good cakes, the boy replied: "Mr Kipling?"
The wall has now been repaired by the Rottingdean Preservation Society, which has complained of regular vandal attacks at the gardens.
Mr Curry said: "We are doing our best to protect the gardens and I hope identifying the boy responsible for damaging the wall demonstrates our commitment to dealing with culprits."
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