VANDALS have left a trail of destruction in their wake across Ipswich after at least 15 cars were broken into within 36 hours.One victim, Mark Wymer has been left devastated after his car was wrecked in the Maryon Road area.

By Jessica Nicholls

VANDALS have left a trail of destruction in their wake across Ipswich after at least 15 cars were broken into within 36 hours.

One victim, Mark Wymer has been left devastated after his car was wrecked in the Maryon Road area.

The red cavalier is now a write off after the windows, indicators and even the steering column was smashed in an overnight attack.

Last night vandals stuck again by setting fire to a car in Lindbergh Road and slashing the petrol pipe on Sharon Abbott's car for the THIRD time in seven months.

Mr Wymer, 37, was stunned yesterday when his partner Sue Wood ran back to their Hurricane Place home in Ravenswood after finding the wrecked car on Tuesday afternoon when she was about to go out shopping. He had parked the car overnight in Maryon Road on Monday.

The guitarist, said that crimes like this are becoming so common place in the area that no-one had bothered reporting the damage.

He said: "Someone must have heard them do this but no one reported it.

"People with children were walking past all day and the police had not heard about it until I found out at around 3pm."

Nothing had been stolen from the car but Mr Wymer said rocks, stones and metal had been thrown through the window.

Wires were dangling down where the steering column had been attacked but there seemed to have been no attempt to steal it.

Other areas where cars were attacked include: Three in Corder Road (near Christchurch Park)

One in Constable Road, one in Rosehill Road, two in Ayr Road, Rushmere, and four in Chesterton Close.

Today, for the third time in several months, Sharon Abbott of Hayman Road is having to replace the petrol pipe in her car.

She was gutted when she woke up today to find the pipe on her Astra car had been slashed.

A part time worker at a nursery in Martlesham Heath she cannot go to work if she does not have a car.

She said: "It makes me really upset and angry when they do this.

"Apparently mine is targeted because on an Astra the fuel pipe is easy to get to – there is another person who lives nearby and it is always happening to her too."

There was around £10 of petrol in the tank and Ms Abbott said she now rarely fills up the tank just in case thieves strike again.

She said: "I go out to work and these people are probably not working and then they take my petrol.

"It is so disheartening."

Inspector Andy Solomon from Suffolk Police said that the attacks are so widespread that it would be difficult to connect them but said that they were trying to tackle the problem.

But it was felt that the vandalism in the Maryon Road and Lindbergh Road areas could be connected.

Police are currently concerned about the wave of car crime hitting the town and already have officers out on the street checking cars which may have valuables on show and writing to the car owners with security advice.

But Inspector Solomon said that members of the public needed to help them out as well.

He said: "We are hoping to utilise the special constabulary to patrol the areas where this is happening as well as having more high visibility policing and plain clothes on the streets.

"We are trying to tackle this problem as best we can but we need as much help as we can to catch these people.

"If people see these offences being committed and call us straight away we could get the helicopter up and catch those who may be running away from the scene."