Car owners face huge repair bills after vandalism spree

Published on Tuesday 16 December 2008 09:16

THOUSANDS of pounds worth of damage has been caused to cars in an Edinburgh neighbourhood after they were targeted by vandals.

At least nine vehicles, including BMWs, Audis and Mazdas, were badly scratched while parked on Meadowhouse Road, in Corstorphine, over the weekend.

Residents believe the attacks took place overnight on Saturday, with many owners discovering the damage on Sunday morning.

Angela McCormick, 36, had her Mercedes scratched the entire length of the passenger side by what appears to have been a key or a screwdriver.

She said: "My neighbour told me on Sunday morning that some cars had been damaged and when I went to check mine, I saw the scratch.

"I walked down the street and noticed that so many cars were the same – right from one end of the vehicle to the other."

The mother-of-two believes her family car will now need to be entirely repainted.

She said: "I don't understand why this has happened. There are quite a lot of nice cars in the street – perhaps whoever did it was jealous. Or was it just mindless? Maybe they were drunk?

"It's definitely a difficult crime to solve and an expense that I am sure everybody could do without."

Householders in the neighbourhood said that cars had been damaged in the area before.

Two years ago, a similar spate of vandalism left car owners with costly repair bills for scratches and dents to their vehicles.

One man said he had even seen someone run over his vehicle while it was parked outside his house during the evening.

The repair bill for one BMW owner whose car was damaged in last weekend's vandalism, is expected to total 1000.

The owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I feel very angry. It's such a pointless thing to do and causes a huge inconvenience.

"Nice cars are not just owned by rich people – many are owned by retired people who have worked hard to buy and enjoy them.

"If whoever has done this thinks they have made an attack on 'posh' people, they have missed that point."

Police are now appealing for witnesses to the crime, which affected cars parked near the Station Road turn-off.

A spokesman said: "This is a mindless act of vandalism which has left these expensive vehicles with significant damage.

"Anyone with information is asked to contact the police immediately."

Anyone with any information about the vandalism should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131-311 3131, or Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800-555 111.