Police in Dundee are hoping private CCTV images will hold the clue to the identity of the suspected serial car vandal who scratched around 30 cars in the Baxter Park area at the weekend.
A police spokeswoman issued a more detailed description of a man seen acting suspiciously in the area at around 11.30pm on Saturday.
The spokeswoman said, “He’s described as having short, light-coloured hair. He may have been wearing a white top and dark bottoms. Officers are currently reviewing private CCTV footage from the area in a bid to identify the person responsible.”
More than two dozen motorists in Baxter Park Terrace, Wortley Place, Anstruther Road and Pitkerro Road woke to find their cars had been targeted between Saturday night and Sunday morning, causing damage likely to run to more than £20,000.
Among them were drivers whose cars have been targeted before in the same areas.
Wayne Tams (28), of Pitkerro Road, went to car to drive to work in Glenrothes when he noticed a scratch across the rear wheel arch panel.
His girlfriend Nicola Sneddon (25), a teacher in Dundee, then went to her Corsa and found it had been scratched along its entire length. The couple’s cars suffered similar damage in attacks thought to have been perpetrated by the same person in October.
Mr Tams said, “This is ridiculous. We didn’t know anything about the latest attacks until we checked our cars this morning. It is the second time this has happened to us and we are not happy.CCTV”Police put a lot of effort into trying to catch the culprit but didn’t manage to. I don’t know the cost of investigating yet another big outbreak of car vandalism, but surely it would have been cheaper if they had installed CCTV to keep a check on who is walking past our homes.
“We moved up here from the city centre six months ago because we wanted a quieter life in a more respectable area. Then our cars are vandalised twice. We don’t know who is doing this and why but it’s causing mayhem.”
Wayne reckons the damage will cost a few hundred pounds to put right if it is a case of re-spraying the cars’ bodywork. The bill would be more if the metalwork was damaged.
“They don’t know when they will get an estimate for the repairs or when they will have them carried out as they both need their vehicles to get to work.
It was the third attack on vehicles in the area in four months, with 15 being vandalised in October and 70 in November.
Maryfield councillor Ken Lynn, who lives in Baxter Park Terrace, called the pattern “sinister” and fears a serial car vandal is responsible.
Some of those affected spoke of seeing a lone white male in the area late on Saturday night a similar description to the suspect in one of the previous incidents but it is understood no one got a close view of him to allow a more detailed account of what he looks like to be circulated.
The police spokeswoman said, “We know that the vandalism took place between 11pm on Saturday night and 9am on Sunday morning.
“Given the nature of the vandalism, officers firmly believe that this latest spate is linked to previous similar crimes in the area.”