Hawzah News Agency (Birmingham, UK) – Culm Mannion, 23, daubed sectarian messages on two occasions and attacked washing facilities inside Clifton Mosque, Balsall Heath, last November.

Mannion also spotted by a security guard with a lighter and a can inside the Guru Nanak Temple on Stratford Road.

Birmingham Magistrates Court heard Mannion, of Tixall Road, Hall Green, suffered from Asperger's syndrome and other emotional disorders.

Mannion was brought up a Catholic but had ‘converted to Islam in self-taught fashion.'

Prosecuting Sey Shabani said on November 5 last year Mannion went into the mosque and wrote offensive statements in the prayer room.

He returned three days later, where he damaged Turbah Stones in the wash room, which have relevance to Shia Muslims.

After an attack at the Guru Nanak Temple on November 29, Mannion returned to Clifton Mosque the same day where he daubed the word 'kuffar' or non-believer on the walls.

Mannion who had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage was handed a community order for 18 months with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days by magistrates.

He was also ordered to pay £270 in costs.

Assistant Secretary General of Muslim Council, Miqdaad Versi, tweeted on November 5, 2017: "Sectarian and bigoted statements have been put inside a Shia mosque in Birmingham. Has been reported to police."