POLICE have revealed the full extent of a wrecking spree in which "mindless" vandals targeted at least 15 cars parked in a Southampton neighbourhood.

Many of the vehicles were parked in Defender Road, Woolston, but police have revealed that cars in seven other streets were also damaged.

Officers have so far been unable to give the total number of vehicles damaged.

But they have confirmed that the hooligans struck in Bridge Road, Defender Road, Defender Walk, Keswick Road, Oswald Road, Tankerville Road, Victoria Road and Wharncliffe Road.

A police spokesman said neighbourhood officers had visited the areas and spoken to residents.

He added: "We are aware of concerns that officers did not immediately deploy to these areas when the reports came in.

"All calls that come into our control room are risk assessed before a deployment decision is made.

"Factors include if a crime is on-going or whether there is an immediate threat to life.

"Risk assessments of the circumstances of these incidents were conducted at the time of the calls on the basis of the information provided to us."

Families living in Defender Road said the vandals drove through the neighbourhood at 3am yesterday, smashing front and rear windscreens with an object thought to be a hammer.

Residents woken by the noise rang the police but say they were told that officers no longer turned out to incidents involving car crime.

Victims spent most of yesterday inspecting the damage to their vehicles - one of which was parked in a disabled bay- and contacting their insurance firms.

Motorists making a claim were warned they would have to pay an excess, with the sums quoted ranging from £85 and £300.

A woman whose BMW had its rear windscreen smashed said: "I heard a car alarm going off in the distance, followed by a series of thuds.

"People started coming out of their homes to find out what had happened.

"The culprits had gone the whole length of the road in a mindless act of vandalism - there's no rhyme or reason to it.

"I'm absolutely distraught - we can't afford to get the damage repaired."

Other victims included Michael Thorpe, who emerged from his home to discover the hooligans had damaged both his vehicles, a Range Rover and camper van.

He said: "We reckon the people responsible drove down the street, with someone leaning out of the vehicle and hitting other cars with a hammer as they went by. This is going to cost people an awful of money."

Fellow victim Adrian Parker, 41, added: "People reported the incident to the police and feel let down by the lack of response.The cuts have gone too far."

Many of the cars damaged in the wrecking spree were parked at the eastern end of Defender Road, close to its junction with Bridge Road. Several vehicles in nearby Keswick Road are also understood to have been targeted.

The culprits caused thousands of pounds of damage, forcing families to cancel their Sunday travel plans.

A woman whose Vauxhall Corsa was vandalised said: "I'm disgusted by what's been done to my car. I'd planned to go shopping today but can't drive it because of the damage.

"What's the point of doing something like that to someone else's property? I can't see what they get out of it."