NEARLY a dozen cars are believed to have been damaged by vandals on a wrecking spree in Wallisdown.

Residents in roads including Wallisdown Road, Benbow Crescent, and Frobisher Avenue discovered their car windscreens had been smashed overnight.

Toni Collins, who lives in Keyes Close, was one of the victims who contacted the Daily Echo after discovering the damage to her new car. A large plank of wood had been left nearby, and Toni believes it was used to smash her windscreen.

It was only when she called the police to report the vandalism that she discovered many other residents in the surrounding area had also been targeted.

It is not known who caused the damage, but Toni and other residents she spoke to suspect it could be a group of young people.

Speaking to the Echo earlier this month the mother-of-two said: “I discovered the damage at 9am. I was taking my son, Jack, to football and he went ‘mum, look at the windscreen’. I just burst into tears.

“It wasn’t until I phoned the police that I realised how many others had been affected. They said they’d had a stupid number of calls that morning. I’ve seen at least nine or ten other cars with their windscreens smashed near me.”

Having a damaged car affected Toni taking Jack to school, her dogs to the vet, and getting to work in Ashley Road.

“It’s not the money it will cost me to get the car repaired, it’s the mindlessness of it. I think the kids around here, or even if it was an adult, they don’t realise they haven’t just upset me – they’ve upset my kids.

“They don’t realise the consequences of their actions. One of the cars damaged could have belonged to someone diagnosed with cancer or going through a really hard time – you don’t know people’s struggles. And this kind of thing makes people’s day ten times worse.

“I was angry at first but I don’t think you should fight fire with fire,” she added.

Toni said the police were unable to send an officer out to visit her after she reported the incident, but she is hoping officers will be able to take action and find those responsible.

“Kids think now they can do things like this and get away with it because they can. It doesn’t send a good message out.”