TWO teenagers were dragged from their beds by police and arrested for causing damage on a local bus.

The boys, aged 15 and 16, from Erith and Thamesmead, were arrested by Lewisham Police after they were identified by News Shopper readers who recognised CCTV stills published in the paper.

The pictures showed them on an 89 Thamesmead to Slade Green bus as it travelled through Shooters Hill. They were pictured pouring tomato sauce on bus seats and etching its windows.

The bus company, Stagecoach, might have been able to polish out the graffiti, but the boys smeared the scratches with glue, permanently damaging the windows, which needed replacing.

Their CCTV pictures were passed to Lewisham Police and the News Shopper.

The headteachers of their schools confirmed both the boys' identities. Both have previous convictions for criminal damage.

PC Peter Rummery, of Lewisham Police, said: "On top of these arrests, we have a dossier full of names and addresses of suspected vandals.

"All of these suspects can expect a visit from us soon."

Meanwhile, all four boys whose CCTV pictures appeared in the News Shopper last week, were identified by readers less than a day after the paper was published.

Brian Gibson, the CCTV manager for London Central Buses, said: "I want to say a really big thank you to the News Shopper readers. We had a huge number of calls."