Residents in Shoebury woke on Christmas Eve to find their cars and properties vandalised, with thousands of pounds worth of damage caused by two men in an early-morning rampage.
Claire Dumsday, a resident of Turner Close, was jolted awake at around 4am when the pair hurled an ASDA shopping trolley onto the roof of her daughter’s car.
“They were smashing the car’s roof in with the trolley,” Claire recalled. “They saw my husband and ran. They’ve caused so much damage along Constable Way – smashing off loads of wing mirrors from parked cars and even ripping signs off the railings at Friars School.”
The vandals were also believed to have targeted a nearby roundabout, leaving road signs bent and strewn across the street, adding to the trail of debris left in their wake.
Claire described the suspects as being between 18 and 25 years old. One had wavy, shoulder-length hair and was wearing a bright orange long-sleeved top with no coat, despite the cold December night.
“My daughter will now have to spend her hard-earned money to fix her car, just like so many of our neighbours whose vehicles were damaged,” Claire added.
Meanwhile, over in Leigh-on-Sea, another act of vandalism unfolded overnight, as a separate culprit covered public spaces with graffiti. The trail of spray paint reportedly began at Grand Drive and continued all the way to Leigh Station.
One Leigh resident expressed their frustration, saying: “This is our special public space. How can we stop the few from ruining it for the many? But credit to Highway Maintenance – they did a fantastic job cleaning it all up in time for Christmas.”
Jenny Elizabeth, another local, shared her shock at the extent of the damage. “We drove to Southend on Sunday and noticed all the graffiti. It was new – we’d never seen it there before. It’s literally everywhere.”
With two separate sprees of destruction in the same night, residents are left wondering what more can be done to prevent mindless acts of vandalism.