A pensioner had to drive through the night in agony to get his car repaired after it was attacked by vandals.

Colin Bird, 75, was in so much pain from a hernia that he booked an out-of-hours appointment with a doctor at Sheppey Community Hospital on Sunday evening.

But when he went to use his Jeep he found thugs had smashed its rear window.

After being seen by the doctor he set to work to get the glass replaced.

But Mr Bird, who worked at computer giant IBM, said: "My insurance company phoned around and said the nearest place they could get it done was at the main Autoglass depot in Slough, a three-hour drive away. And the only slot was 8am that morning.

"I asked if it could be done any nearer but the earliest anyone else could do it was on January 3 in Rainham. I thought that was too long to wait especially with a car open to the elements."

So he drove through the night in pain and without a rear window.

His distraught wife Guiva, 83, said: "People don't realise what effect their vandalism can have.

"My husband was like a ghost. He left at 2.30am and was fighting back the pain as he drove through the night in the freezing cold to get our car repaired. It terrified me."

The couple live in Marine Parade, Sheerness.

Mrs Bird, a great grandmother, said: "The people who did this are awful. They must have been looking for something in our boot. But it was empty.

"It is appalling. It broke my heart to know my husband was driving on his own in pain and agony. He was frozen.

"The person who did this not only ruined our car but totally upset our lives. They also left glass everywhere."

The attack on the Birds' car was part of a spate of crimes across the Island.

During Boxing Day night another car had its window smashed in nearby Ranelagh Road, Sheerness, and a silver Nissan Qashqai had its number plate KW62CUC stolen.

Christmas gifts were stolen from a vehicle in Meyrick Road, Sheerness, and number plates AK56 LNJ were stolen from a car in Anne Boleyn Close, Eastchurch, between 5pm and 9pm on Boxing Day night.

Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day a Land Rover in Queensway, Sheerness, had its tyres slashed and a car in New Road, Minster, was ransacked and left with all its doors and windows open.

Just after midnight on Friday, December 27, a golf buggy was stolen from Sheerness Holiday Park in Halfway Road, Sheerness, and dumped in The Glen public park in Minster.

A homeowner in Eastern Avenue, Queenborough, was woken at 4.20am on Monday, December 23, to loud banging and found his car had been damaged by a food waste bin.

Between midnight and 6am on Boxing Day police say a bogus woman caller stole a wallet from a resident in Vincent Court, Vincent Gardens, Sheerness.

If saw any of these incidents or have information about them you can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org

To get the latest updates on ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from the Isle of Sheppey