Tourist fined £16,000 for vandalising Rome's Colosseum

Russian man was caught carving a 10-inch tall letter ‘K’ into the walls

The man was found scratching a giant letter 'K' onto the ancient landmark (Getty Images)

A Russian tourist has been fined €20,000 (£16,000) and been handed a four-year suspended sentence for carving a giant letter ‘K’ into the walls of one of Italy’s most prized ancient Roman landmarks.

The 42-year-old tourist was using a pointed stone to scratch the 10-inch tall letter onto a wall of the Colosseum when a guard found him defacing the structure.

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire, and believed to be the largest amphitheatre in the world.

Its head of administration, Mariarosaria Barbera, reportedly said the man had “caused significant damage” to the Colosseum, and accused him of having “ruined the covering part of the amphitheatre”.

It is the fifth incidence of vandalism by foreign tourists at the Colosseum this year.

Additional reporting by AP