City councillor Liz Fordyce has condemned the “mindless and destructive” vandals who scratched 15 cars in Stobswell at the weekend, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Councillor Fordyce was shocked by the incident, which police say happened at some point over Saturday night in Baxter Park Terrace.
Another car in nearby Bingham Terrace was also damaged by vandals using a key or similar implement to scratch the paintwork “down to the metal,” an angry owner said.
“I feel really sorry for the people who have had their car scraped,” Councillor Fordyce said.
“No one can afford to spend needless amounts of money on their car in this financial climate.
“I can see why cars on Baxter Park Terrace are an easy target as they are closely parked together nose-to-tail down both sides of the road.
“With that 25-year-old being mugged the other day on Morgan Street it seems like things in this area are getting out of hand.
“When I first got elected 11 years ago it wasn’t a nice area but the locals have worked hard to make it good. Unfortunately it seems like we are now going back to the bad old days.”
Ms Fordyce urged anyone with information to come forward.
“It is really sad that these mindless and destructive vandals can behave in such a way towards people’s private property. It’s sickening.
“If they have any conscience they will own up. However if somebody knows something but is too scared to go to the police they can contact me or any other councillor anonymously and we’ll take the details.”
Residents were reeling after discovering their cars had been damaged. One outraged local said, “They got around 15 cars on the street. It is usually pretty quiet here but it looks like someone has just gone along with keys and damaged the cars in front of them.
“I have no idea how much it will cost to fix, but I’m sure it won’t be cheap. It makes me so angry.”
Another said, “They never got my car but I saw the police go around to tell people this morning.
“It’s just a mindless thing to do and it will cost people a lot of money to fix. I hope the police catch whoever did it.”
A Bingham Terrace resident, who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said this sort of vandalism happens “again and again.”
“Once again I go to my car to find the paintwork has been ‘artistically’ gouged down one side, to the metal.
“The potential loss of no-claims bonus on my insurance means that I don’t make a claim for the damage.
“I don’t bother the police with this anymore. The first time I received the friendly advice, ‘Don’t park on a corner, do park under a street lamp.’ So I don’t, and I do, and it happens again, and again.”
A police spokesman said, “We are keen to speak with anyone who may have seen a person or persons acting suspiciously in the area overnight.”