A man has admitted causing damage to the Manchester Arena bombing memorial and is due to be sentenced next month. Anwar Hosseni, 24, of Salford, has pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage worth £10,000 to the 'Glade of Light' memorial in Manchester city centre on February 9 when a series of scratch marks were found.
Mr Hosseni appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday morning where it emerged he had admitted the offence when he appeared before Tameside magistrates on February 10. He will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on May 4.
Mr Hosseni, wearing jeans and a jacket with a small daffodil in his lapel, spoke only to confirm his date of birth and address at Twillbrook Drive in Salford during the brief hearing.
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His solicitor David Caplin said that in his previous appearance at Tameside Magistrates' Court the case was adjourned so the value of the damage could be established. It was 'no secret' it had now been established and the high value meant his client could not be sentenced at the magistrates' court, he said.
During his last hearing, Mr Hosseni appeared with a mental health nurse after he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, said Mr Caplin.
The court heard the defendant was discharged but was then re-sectioned. Mr Caplin said he had not been able to contact his client during the last few days but he had turned up for his court appearance although he was without a mental health nurse.
The lawyer went on that as yet there had been 'no exploration' as to whether his client had been fit to plead when he admitted criminal damage.
"There doesn't appear to have been any analysis of his mental health until I saw him," said Mr Caplin.
Adjourning the case until May 4 when the defendant is due at Manchester Crown Court, District Judge Mark Hadfield told Mr Hosseni: "You have pleaded guilty to this offence and will receive full credit for doing so. The amount of damage means this is to serious to be dealt with at the magistrates' court. At this stage it will be remitted to Manchester Crown Court for sentence."
The judge said the issue of the defendant's fitness to enter his plea could be considered at the crown court.
Mr Hosseni was released on bail on condition he lives at his address in Salford and does not enter a specified area around the memorial.
The memorial was only opened to the public in January. An official unveiling will take place in the spring ahead of the fifth anniversary of the attack.
Bereaved families have made personalised memory capsules containing mementos and messages which are embedded inside the halo.
The tribute was conceived as a living memorial - a peaceful garden space for remembrance and reflection, featuring plants which grow naturally in the UK countryside and which have been selected to provide year-round colour and echo the changing seasons.
Around the anniversary of the bombing every year - May 22 - the white flowers of a hawthorn tree planted at its centre will bloom.
An outer circle path, including seating, has been included to enable people to linger in the garden for longer while preserving the intimacy of the halo area.
