MOTORISTS were left sickened after finding themselves the victims of a widespread vandalism spree which left nine cars damaged.

In the small hours of Thursday night and Friday morning unknown offenders targeted several cars in Nailsworth, Shortwood and Horsley.

Some bonnets were dented, windows were shattered and wing mirrors were smashed off, while other were keyed and had their tyres slashed.

Many residents reported the attacks around the same time on Friday morning, leading to the suspicion that the crimes were committed by the same culprits.

One woman from Horsley spoke of her distress after finding her Honda Jazz’s back window smashed by a brick.

“The window frame was dented – it was a horrible attack,” said Nina Loveridge, 67, has lived in the village for 18 years.

“They must have used a heck of a lot of force to break through the reinforced glass, I’ve never seen anything like it.

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“It’s just incredible that no one heard a peep, surely the smashing of glass would have woken someone.

“I now have to fork out £400 for the excess and I’ll lose my no claims bonus. It feels like we are all paying for vandalism to take place it’s a horrible feeling.

“This wanton destruction has caused a lot of people a lot of distress."

She lives on The Street in Horsley, and was only one of the victims in the village. Just down the Hill the landlords of The Hog pub also fell victim to the vandalism spree.

“So many cars in the area were damaged badly, bricks through windows, tyres slashed, cars badly scratched down the sides, mine looks as though someone's been at the bonnet with a hammer,” said Greg Saturley, who has run the pub for two years.

“It seems we were one of a number of people in the area to be targeted. Like everyone else apparently we didn’t hear a thing.

"The car is insured but we will lose our no claims bonus, it's so frustrating that someone could do all this damage.”

A police spokeswoman said several reports of damaged cars had bene reported on Friday morning.

In Shortwood, a grey Audi was also scratched and damaged while parked on the roadside, and tyres were slashed on a green Volkswagen Polo and a blue Peugeot.

A 'smiley face' was scratched onto the bonnet of the Peugeot, and a paving stone was probably used to smash a Land Rover windscreen.

In Nailsworth a blue Renault Clio parked on the roadside in Old Bristol Road was scratched, the aerial broken and the lights were smashed.

A Toyota Rav4 was also damaged by another vehicle while it was parked on the roadside near Lloyds Bank in Fountain Street.

Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed any of these incidents or who has any information that could help with their inquiries.

Please contact 101, quoting incident numbers 48, 59, 61, 95, 179, 183 or 293 of November 27.