VANDALS who damaged more than a dozen parked cars in a late-night wrecking spree have been blasted by community leaders.

A gang caused thousands of pounds of damage to 13 cars in the Higher Croft area of Blackburn in just a few hours.

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Long-standing councillor Andy Kay said the damage done was ‘outrageous’ and would have a ‘very serious impact’ on families in the area in the run-up to Christmas.

Lancashire police said officers had recorded 13 incidents of criminal damage to vehicles Continued n 5 parked in Lytham Road, Fairhaven Road and Whitby Drive.

In the majority of cases, the full length of the unoccupied cars was scratched. Bizarrely, in some instances, owners reported packets of crisps being emptied over the car roofs and bonnets.

The area’s neighbourhood policing team has pledged to step up high-visibility patrols to offer reassurance to residents.

Coun Kay, who has represented Labour in Higher Croft since 1988, said: “It is the work of idiots. It’s not what people expect in this area. Only on very rare occasions does this sort of thing happen.

“Obviously some idiots have come in and ran riot. It is outrageous. The implications for the families who own these cars could be very serious, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

“Whether it be with insurance premiums going up or a hefty cost to fix the damage themselves, it isn’t going to be cheap.”

The cars are believed to have been targeted late on Wednesday, November 19 and early on Thursday, November 20.

PC Anthony Blezard, of Blackburn police, said officers were doing their utmost to catch those responsible.

He said: “Whoever is responsible has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to these cars and I would urge anyone who has any information about these incidents or who has seen anyone acting suspiciously in these areas to contact us.

“I would like to reassure local residents that the local neighbourhood policing team are taking these incidents very seriously and there were high-visibility patrols in place over the weekend.”

Don McKinlay, fellow Labour councillor for the area, said he was surprised to hear about the spate of incidents.

He said: “It is a totally irresponsible thing for people to be doing. I can only describe it as mindless violence. It is terrible for the victims and thankfully it isn’t the sort of thing you hear of a lot in our ward.

“I do hope it is a one-off and those responsible disappear and we don’t see them again.”

Lancashire police said nobody had been arrested in connection with the offences so far.

Anybody with any information can a contact Lancashire police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on-line at Crimestoppers-uk.org.