POLICE are today hunting for a gun-toting yob who went on the rampage damaging 17 cars across Ipswich, Felixstowe and Orford and shooting a man the face with an air rifle.

POLICE are today hunting for a gun-toting yob who went on the rampage damaging 17 cars across Ipswich, Felixstowe and Orford and shooting a man the face with an air rifle.

The shooting spree, which lasted just over two and half hours, began just after 9pm last night in Orford.

A Suffolk Police spokesman said: “There was a horrendous amount of damage committed overnight.”

At about 9.10pm police received reports of a window of a house in Church Street, Orford being smashed by pellets belonging to an air gun or BB gun.

Then shortly before 10pm, gun shots were fired at two cars in Key Street in the village, which activated the alarms and shattered the windows.

Some time after 10pm, police were called when the windows of ten cars in Felixstowe were smashed by an air gun.

Witnesses claim the damage to the cars, which were parked in Orford Road, Cavendish Road, Beach Road West and Tacon Road, was caused by the driver of a silver hatchback car with red racing stripes.

Less than an hour later, at about 11pm, he shot at five vehicles in Theberton Road, Gainsborough, Ipswich, leaving shattered glass across the street.

Then 40 minutes later, the driver pulled up to a 21-year-old man, who was outside the Co-Op store in Landseer Road, Greenwich, Ipswich, and shot him in the face before speeding off.

The impact of the pellet caused a lump on the victim's cheek but he did not need medical treatment.

A police spokesman said: “This was a pretty nasty incident and it looks like these series of incidents are linked.

“The car was last seen travelling towards town. If anyone can help us with this investigation, they should give us a call.”

The driver is described as white, about 20 years old, with short cropped light brown hair, wearing a t-shirt.

If you saw anything and can help police with their enquiries, call Suffolk Police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Were you affected by this vandalism spree or you were the young man who was hit? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.