RACIST teenager Paolo Falcone will be spending Christmas in prison after magistrates decided there was no excuse for his behaviour in a civilised society.

Falcone, 18, pleaded guilty to two racially aggravated attacks on Chippenham's New Testament Pentecostal Church at an earlier court appearance in Chippenham.

On the first occasion at the end of September, Falcone daubed a swastika on the church wall with red spray paint and ripped a religious poster from the wall.

He also painted similar symbols on some garages near the Lowden church, signing them with his initials and his girlfriend Amanda's name.

A week later he was seen by some elderly black members of the congregation, acting drunkenly and shouting racist abuse outside the church while a prayer meeting was going on.

Rhys Davies, prosecuting, said it was well known the church was predominantly used by members of Chippenham's black community.

He said on the day in question, an elderly black couple heard Falcone repeatedly shouting the word "nigger".

Mr Davies said Falcone, who was with his girlfriend, was heard shouting: "Let's get those niggers."

The couple followed Falcone back to his home in St Margaret's Close, from a safe distance and later informed police where he lived.

"The defendant was later interviewed about this catalogue of offences and admitted he had committed them because he was drunk.

"He said he had damaged the building with the intention of offending the black community, and said when he was shouting the word nigger he knew this would cause offence and fear," said Mr Davis.

Falcone was also charged with two counts of being drunk and disorderly. At the time of the second offence, he was on bail for the attacks on the church.

"He said he was a racist who didn't like black people and that he agreed with Nazi ideas," said Mr Davies.

Falcone's solicitor Michael Jeary said Falcone came from a very normal family, and his mother thought he had changed since an assault where he was badly hit around the head.

"His mother says it was at this point that he changed and started to have an interest in Right Wing issues and the skinhead culture.

"His views are so Right Wing and Fascist you wouldn't believe them, but he doesn't understand what he says."

He said Falcone went to a neurologist last week, who told him not to be involved in any contact sports because of the injury he had sustained.

The court heard he had a previous conviction for a racially motivated offence.

Falcone was sentenced to three months for the first attack, a further three months for the second, and one month for the damage to the garages. The sentences will run concurrently.

He was not ordered to pay any compensation because of his custodial sentence and was given no separate penalty for the public order offences.

Magistrates however, decided their only option was to send Falcone to a young offender's institution because of the seriousness of the offences.