A fine art student jailed for smashing a window during student protests has been allowed to return to university to finish his studies.

Hundreds of friends and campaigners signed an online petition supporting James Heslip’s bid to overturn his removal from Kingston University.

He was jailed for 12 months after tuition fee opponents stormed and vandalised a central-London tower block housing Conservative Party headquarters on November 10, 2010.

The 21-year-old, from Orchard Road, Kingston, sent Vice-chancellor Julius Weinberg a personal statement asking to be allowed back.

He asked for his place back, in keeping with the university’s policy of automatically withdrawing students jailed for more than 21 days but allowing each the opportunity to apply for their place back.

The university this week revealed Mr Weinberg accepted his plea after considering Heslip’s previous conduct at the university, the nature of his crime and the view of his former tutors.

Heslip’s father Patrick, a landscape gardener in Worcester, said: “All credit to him for not getting carried away by tabloid views."

He had previously worried his son’s future employment prospects would be harmed if he could not complete the degree he started in 2009.

Fellow student Alistair Farrow, who launched the petition last month, had described the sentence as “completely out of proportion”.

The online campaign was closed at his family’s request on Saturday, February 4, after he was reinstated.

A university spokesman said: “In the majority of previous cases – barring any potential risk relating to the health or wellbeing of another member of the university community – the student has been allowed to return to the university and complete his or her course.”

Heslip’s time behind bars inspired a series of drawings from within the prison posted on his website jamesheslip.blog spot.com.

They included pigeons seen through prison windows, hares, and letters to his girlfriend Tabby.