British vandal begs authorities for forgiveness after being identified carving names into Rome's ancient Colosseum
1 July 2023, 11:22 | Updated: 1 July 2023, 15:42
A British tourist filmed vandalising Rome's ancient Colosseum has begged authorities for forgiveness after being tracked down by police.
Italian authorities identified Ivan Dimitrov, 27, after footage emerged online showing him carving the words 'Ivan + Hayley 23' into the tourist attraction's historic brickwork.
Dimitrov, who lives in Bristol with his girlfriend Hayley Bracey, 33, could be seen standing in front of the landmark before he scribbles both of their names into the ancient stonework.
Italy's Carabinieri traced the pair by trawling through CCTV evidence and hotel records, narrowing down their location to Bulgaria on Friday.
Fitness instructor Dimitrov - who is also known as Ivan Hawkins - has been travelling around Europe with Ms Bracey as part of a three week holiday and could face up to five years in prison for his actions.
The Carabinieri said that after discussing the incident, Dimitrov expressed "sincere remorse" for his vandalism.
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Carabinieri spokesman Major Roberto Martina told the MailOnline: "Colleagues have spoken with the man and he has expressed his apologies and sincere remorse for what he did.
"He had contacted us after we secured his mobile telephone from hotel records and left a message for him to call us. He was naturally worried about the legal implications, and these were all explained to him."
Fury erupted earlier this week after a video shot by a fellow tourist at the iconic Italian landmark depicted Dimitrov scrawling the names into the stonework of the 1,937-year-old landmark.
Clutching a set of keys, he cracks a smirk at the camera before returning to the wall and continuing to inscribe the names.
Major Martina continued: "We told him that a report would be sent to his address in the UK and then the matter would proceed to a trial, probably early next year and he would be able to apologise in person there to the court.
"We didn’t ask him why he did it, that will be for a judge to hear, we just told him that he was a suspect and was part of the investigation. The girl is not part of any complaint so is an innocent party as far as we are concerned although technically, she could be seen as an accessory."
Asshole tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23
"But again, that will be for the prosecutor to decide once we have finished our enquires which shouldn’t take too long as the main evidence is the original video of the incident.
"He told us he was very upset by what he had done, and he kept apologising for it, I think he was worried about the consequences of any trial and we explained that he could be jailed for between two and five years and be fined up to 15,000 Euro."
The incident is believed to have taken place last Friday, June 23, according to the English voice recorded as part of the video.
At the time of its construction at around 70 CE, the Colosseum is thought to have seated 50,000 spectators.
Uploaded to YouTube on June 24 by user @rytz5873, the footage was later shared on Reddit with the caption 'A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome'.
Social media users commenting on the video called for the arrest of the culprit.
As part of the video, the English-speaking man capturing the footage can be heard saying: 'Are you serious man? That is f***ed up man. Stupid a*****e.'
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If reported to police, the individual could be fined £1750 (€2,065) and face up to one year in prison.
It's not the first time a tourist has been caught and reprimanded for defacing what's believed to be the world's largest Amphitheatre.
An Irish tourist was arrested by Carabinieri police in September 2020 for allegedly carving his initials into the Colosseum in a similar incident.
Reported to police by the Colosseum's private security firm, the 32-year-old was caught inscribing his two initials into a pillar on the landmark's first floor.
Measuring about 2" high, the letters, inscribed using a metal point, saw the anonymous individual stand accused of damaging a historical and artistic landmark.
