Sydney - The repair bill after a tank rampaged through the streets of Australia's biggest city at the weekend exceeds 6 million dollars (5 million US dollars), a court in Sydney was told Monday. John Patterson, 35, was denied bail on a string of charges that followed his 90-minute joyride aboard a British-built FV432 Armoured Personnel Carrier.
The Rolls Royce-powered ram tank, stolen from Patterson's former employer, smashed through seven mobile-phone towers as it wound its way through six Sydney suburbs.
Police looked on helplessly as the 15-ton tracked vehicle brought down anything in its path. They were only able to stop the mayhem when the 1-million-dollar vehicle stalled.
The court heard that Patterson damaged another tank belonging to Greg Morris, which like the Trojan was hired out for weddings and parties. Morris told the court that Patterson had spent thousands of hours restoring the 40-year-old vehicle, which he had learned to drive while working as an army mechanic.
Morris said he believed his former employee and friend had targeted mobile-phone towers because he believed radiation from them had upset his mental state.
