English Heritage has published the following press release:
“English Heritage is very pleased that Mr Penny has agreed to pay for repairs to the monument and other mitigation works at a cost of around £38,000. In addition he has been fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £7,500. He will also bear his own defence costs. In sentencing the judge was clear that had it not been for Mr Penny’s agreement to pay these substantial mitigation costs, the fine would have been significantly higher. The judgement takes into account Mr Penny’s early guilty plea, his good character and his full cooperation throughout the case.
The outcome of this case sends out a clear message that English Heritage can and will prosecute in cases of serious damage and unauthorised works to Scheduled Monuments. The defendant and the court have recognised the great importance of these sites and the serious nature of this offence. The outcome reflects the substantial penalty offenders may expect to receive if convicted. The court has also recognised the importance of mitigating the impact to this damaged site. This will give back to the monument some of what has been lost..
English Heritage would like to thank Avon and Somerset police in particular for their assistance in this matter. Tackling these heritage crimes can only be done properly in a partnership between experts in historic buildings and sites and experts in criminal investigations. This was a very good example of that working.
Ellen Harrison, Communications Manager, Tel: 0207 973 3295″
We are pleased that this sorry affair has finally seen closure but a couple of issues arise from today’s sentence, firstly is £50,000 plus costs enough for the damage that was wrought, perhaps this should have been higher and secondly, what form will the repairs take, will we see a complete henge ever again?
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See also The Priddy Sentence Dissected
The Heritage Journal 
2 comments
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26/10/2012 at 16:09
Sian Lacey Taylder
Thanks for the update. Once the damage had been done no fine was ever going to be sufficient to make good the damage. I’d have liked to have seen a larger fine as a penalty; I suspect Mr Penny thought he’d get away with it and that his contrition is more a damage-limitation exercise. Still, it does send out a positive message, of sorts.
‘Heritage crime’: that’s a new one!
26/10/2012 at 16:31
calmgrove
As I posted to Current Archaeology’s Facebook page, this is not as good news as ‘No damage to Priddy Circles’ would have been, but let’s hope the message this sends gets out to those who need to hear it, whether they’re the irresponsible minority of landowners, nighthawks or scramble bikers.