Catapult vandals damage 30 cars in Istead Rise 'drive-by' attack in one night
Troy Wareing with his
damaged Vauxhall Corsa
by Julia Roberts and Lizzie
Massey
Vandals believed to be armed with a catapult are being
blamed for causing damage to at least 30 vehicles in one night.
Cars and vans parked in several roads in Istead Rise, near
Gravesend, were targeted in what residents claimed was a
drive-by catapult shooting on Sunday.
They say the culprits were driving a white van and several said
they had heard a man walking his dog was also hit in the
legs.
Police are now investigating the vandalism, which comes just two
weeks after a series of similar catapult shootings in Greenhithe
and South Darenth.
Officers are not yet linking the incidents, but are appealing
for information.
Several of the vehicles were parked along Downs Road. Others
damaged were in nearby Arcadia Road and Lewis Road.
The smashed passenger
window on Troy's Corsa
College student Troy Wareing and his brother, Tyrone, 22, both
had windows smashed on their vehicles that were parked on
Downs Road.
Troy, 18, believes a small stone he found in his Vauxhall Corsa
had been fired from a catapult, smashing the nearside window as
well as the electrical opening mechanism.
He has now handed the stone over to the police.
Tyrone's van was hit first. Troy discovered his car had been
damaged the following morning.
Troy said: "My passenger side window had been smashed and I
found a stone inside by the driver's door. I noticed it was the
right size for a catapult.
"I then found out about 30 cars around my area had also had
their windows smashed.
"I just don't see what people get out of it. What sort of
enjoyment do they get out of smashing windows?"
"I don't see what people get out of it. What sort of enjoyment do they get out of smashing windows?" – Catapult victim Troy Wareing
Barbara Baldock, 59,
was at home in Arcadia Road when she discovered a Toyota Yaris
belonging to a friend of her daughter had also been damaged.
She said: "She had parked her car just on the edge of our
driveway. My son came in and told us that her driver's window had
been smashed.
"A minute later a lady knocked at the door to say the same
thing. She had just come from her brother-in-law's house and his
van had been damaged.
"A man across the road from us had his son's girlfriend's car
smashed as well.
"I also heard that a man walking his dog thought someone had hit
him with a hard egg but then realised he had been shot with a
catapult.
"We have been informed that about 30 cars were targeted on
Sunday evening but all were parked on the road rather than people's
drives."
Mrs Baldock said a decorator living in Downs Road had damage
caused to two vans. She branded those responsible "mindless".
"I would just like to know what these people get out of it, what
have they achieved?"
Kent Police confirmed they had received 18 reports of damage to
vehicles by small objects, such as stones, in Istead Rise.
They have renewed their original appeal for information which
followed reports of 15 incidents of damage being caused by ball
bearings and smooth stones fired from catapults in Dartford,
Sevenoaks and Gravesend, between September 30 and October 15.
Anyone with information is asked to contact DS Mat Scott at
Kent Police by calling 101.
08/11/12
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