Car owners facing big vandal threat

CAR owners in Edinburgh are more likely to have their vehicles vandalised than anywhere else in Scotland, a report has found.

The research by a car insurance firm placed the Capital as the tenth worst in the UK.

LV= estimated that roughly 50 per cent of its Edinburgh drivers will have been a victim of motor vandalism at some stage in their life.

The majority of those offences included smashed windscreens, keys being run on the car’s bodywork and broken wing mirrors.

A tenth of Edinburgh motorists have been victims of tyre slashings, the report said, while three per cent have had graffiti daubed on their car.

John O’Roarke, managing director of LV=, said: “Vandalism is a malicious and pointless crime.

“It is a big worry for motorists and a cause of distress for the victims – particularly those who are targeted on their own doorstep. Keep your car in a garage if you can or park it in a well-lit area as the majority of vandalism happens at dusk or after dark.”