Ivan Dimitrov, from Bristol, was caught and filmed carving his and his girlfriend Hayley Bracey's names into the 2,000-year-old structure in Rome, Italy.

A video of the incident quickly went viral on social media. The video, titled “A tourist…carves his name at the Colosseum in Rome,” has been viewed more than 300,000 times.

Italian police said Dimitrov expressed “sincere remorse” for his actions. Major Roberto Martina said: “He told us he was very sad about what he had done and he repeatedly apologised. I think he was worried about the consequences and we explained that he could be imprisoned for two to five years and fined up to €15,000.”

Mr Martina went on to say that the case would be reasonably straightforward thanks to the video. “He contacted us after we got his cell phone number from the hotel records and left a message for him to call us,” Mr Martina said.

“He was naturally concerned about the legal implications, and all of this was explained to him. We did not ask him why he did it, that would be for the judge to decide, we just told him that he was a suspect and part of the investigation,” he added.

Mr Martina went on to say that his girlfriend Bracey “is not part of any of the complaints” as she was not directly involved in the incident. “Although technically she could be considered a party,” he said.

Huy Hoang (according to Independent)