VANDALS went on a wrecking spree by smashing off car wing mirrors in a Southend street.

Residents living in Kenway say they have suffered at the hands of yobs since the start of the year, with one man having his car targeted four times.

Ray Jervis, 56, keeps having to get the wing mirrors repaired on his Honda Civic. They have been kicked off four times in six months.

The last occasion he had to pay £200 to get them repaired.

He is calling for the alleyway at the top of the road that leads on to Short Street to be fenced off at night or for a CCTV camera to be installed in a bid to stop the vandals.

He said: “It is getting too dangerous to park our cars on the street now so my wife and I park somewhere else.

“On Friday, four cars had their mirrors smashed, including my wife’s. There was a BMW parked behind my wife’s car and the wing mirror was just hanging off.

“It is so expensive to have the wing mirrors replaced, especially if they are electric.

“It happens on either a Friday or a Saturday in the early hours of the morning. If a gate could be put on the alley at night to reduce the flow of people it would remove the problem entirely, or they could put up CCTV to deter people.”

Tony Cox, cabinet member for public protection and waste, said: “Now this issue has been brought to my attention I will look into it and see what can be done.

“I am very sorry Mr Jervis has had his wing mirror damaged four times, but I would urge him and others to report this to the police because it is a criminal offence and the more reports there are, the more police will patrol the area, and act as a physical deterrent.”