WEST Craven police have pledged to “intensively target” anti-social behaviour after a spate of criminal damage.
Julie and Dave Birnie, who run Have I Got News 4 You on Victoria Road, said they were “gutted” to discover the windscreen of their car had been smashed and newspaper supplements dumped in the beck over night on Saturday.
Julie said: “It looks like they put a brick through the windscreen, causing £638 worth of damage.
“The supplements for the newspapers had been delivered late on Saturday night but were missing Sunday morning. People told us they had seen them in the beck. It meant Dave had to drive round for four hours to deliver new ones.”
There have been several reports of cars being damaged over the weekend. In Barnoldswick, the windscreen of a black Volkswagen in Wellhouse Road was cracked overnight on Friday, costing £150. Vandals dented the door of a grey Mazda in Castle View at 1-15 a.m. on Sunday and the paintwork of a silver Peugeot in Rankin Close was gouged overnight on Saturday, causing £75 worth of damage.
In Market Street, the body panels of a silver Mercedes were dented, to a cost of £500. And in Earby a wing mirror was snapped off a silver Nissan Micra in Linden Court overnight on Saturday.
Earby town councillor Vera Cocker said she had other reports of vandalism from residents including tools being stolen from vans. She said: “We appreciate the police have been cracking down on vandalism and would appeal for them to spend more time here.”
Insp. Phil Davies said: “We are aware of the problems in West Craven and will be intensively targeting this behaviour. Two weeks ago, we had an operation focusing on youth related issues and will be placing additional resources in the area, especially at night.
“I would also appeal for anyone with information to come forward.”