Residents of a road in Shirley say they have had enough of vandals damaging their cars after around 20 were targeted.

People in Malmesbury Road have been waking up to find that their cars have been keyed repeatedly - with the latest incident happening over Easter.

Currently, around 13 cars parked on the pavement on Malmesbury Road have visible scratch marks – some of which span multiple car panels.

The vandalism started in February and has continued.

Russell Coates, 47, said he had to fork out nearly £2,000 to get several panels sprayed on his car.

He said: “I was absolutely fuming when two neighbours knocked on my door on Easter Sunday and showed me the damage that they had seen on my car.

Daily Echo: “It soon became clear that at least another half a dozen cars had been hit in the same night.”

Russell’s car had scratches from the front wing all the way to the rear passenger door.

In the wake of the incident, Russell and his neighbours have now fitted security cameras facing their vehicles.

He added: “Some of our neighbours have been hit more than once. It’s ridiculous.

“I’ve been here half my life – nothing has happened like this before.

“We are lucky that I have the money to get my car fixed – not all those along this road are in that position. I was gutted when they told me how much – that money was to be spent on my family.

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“For 15 to 20 cars we are looking at around £20,000 to £30,000 worth of damage.

“The police were brilliant, and the officer has advised us on what we can do to protect our vehicle.”

Resident Chris Dorman added: “It must be more than 20 cars that have had a key dragged across the paint of each one.

“You can tell someone has come wandering along without a care in the world. I’m not sure what the police can do – it is a silent crime with makes it so difficult.”

Another victim of the damage, Nat Easton, said she would not get her car fixed as she fears it will happen again.

Daily Echo: Residents have told that at least 20 cars have now been been 'keyed'

She added: “We have only been here a year – I spent some time with some T Cut – just trying to do what I could. The whole incident has been so frustrating.

“My car was hit in February – someone has been targeting this area.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire police said: “We received a report that several cars parked outside an address on Malmesbury Road, Southampton, had been scratched or ‘keyed’ between 1pm on Saturday, March 30 and 1pm on Sunday, March 31.

“If anyone has any information regarding this incident, please call 101 quoting reference number 44240135857.

“We would particularly like to speak to any car owners in Malmesbury Road who have not already reported a similar incident to us, and anyone with relevant CCTV or doorbell camera footage.”