ALMOST a dozen families were counting the cost today, after a vandal went on a drive-by wrecking spree across an Ipswich estate.Homes and cars in a total of eight roads in east Ipswich were targeted in an apparently randomly attack leaving tempers frayed and fears for safety today.

ALMOST a dozen families were counting the cost today, after a vandal went on a drive-by wrecking spree across an Ipswich estate.

Homes and cars in a total of eight roads in east Ipswich were targeted in an apparently randomly attack leaving tempers frayed and fears for safety today. One man even pledged to beg the council to move him, his wife, and their eight children to try and lessen the danger.

Car windows were smashed in Gainsborough roads including Landseer Road, Holbrook Road, Davey Close, Turner Road, Morland Road, Rands Way, Hogarth Road. House windows were broken in Simpson Close, and Davey Close where sheltered housing residents were believed to have been the victims.

Police later arrested a 29-year-old man from Ipswich, who has been released on bail until October 8.

In Landseer Road, Bob Cattell's Vauxhall Cavalier window was smashed and he heard the vandal had been driving past when he leant out of the window to do the damage.

The constant vandalism drove him to take today off work, choosing to instead visit the council and ask for a house exchange. After moving to Ipswich from Harwich over a year ago, the 41-year-old is amazed at the extent of crime in Gainsborough, and now wants to take his wife Hayley, 31, and their eight children to safety.

He said: "When a grown man doesn't feel safe, then you know your wife and kids aren't either.

"There's no word to describe what I think of the vandal – apart from swearing. If he'd done it to steal the car radio then I could have seen the point, but it was just stupidity."

He said seven of the childrens' bikes had been stolen in the past year, and their home's ground-floor front bedroom window had been smashed while they lay sleeping inside.

Neighbour Carol Parsons was one of the lucky ones. Her car escaped damage but she is now considering parking elsewhere to avoid it being smashed in future.

She said: "It must have happened just before 5pm. I've heard they might come back. It's such a stupid prank to play. I'm on the dole and can't afford new windows."

Landseer Road resident Brian Stannard , spotted that the window of his friend's Peugeot 206 had been smashed, with glass littering the layby in which it was parked.

The 42-year-old said: "It's bad, quite bad. There could have been someone sitting inside with children for all they knew. I'm worried they will be back again tonight, to finish the job and get the cars they missed."

In nearby Holbrook Road, Lynn Marjoram , 31, had the passenger window of her Ford Sierra smashed.

She said: "It was an absolutely pointless thing to do. We have two cars but one is now out of action. In the past year, we've had two car windows smashed and one car torched, so we can't afford to insure them other than third party."

She has made repeated requests to the council to drop the kerb to allow off-road parking, but said nothing had been done yet.

A police spokeswoman said: "So far we have had reports of nine car windows broken, and two house windows, which is a total of £1,100 damage.

"A 29-year-old man from Ipswich has been arrested and bailed to October 8."