Motorists' nightmare as vehicle vandalism attacks rise by a quarter in West Yorkshire

The 25 per cent jump was - along with Hertfordshire Police - the second highest rise among the 37 forces which provided data to RAC Insurance from the 43 forces across England and Wales.

The highest spike of vandalism was recorded by Greater Manchester Police which recorded a 37 per cent increase in reports received.

Of the forces to respond with comparable data, a total of 24 saw an increase in vandalism from 2013 to last year.

West Yorkshire’s rise of 25 per cent was well above the national average increase recorded over the three year period of ten per cent.

This equated to an increase from 191,000 vehicles being vandalised across England and Wales in 2013 to a total of 210,000 last year.

The most common incidents included criminal damage such as smashed windows, slashed tyres, and broken windscreen wipers.

The RAC said it believed that the actual figure for vandalism reports was likely to be “considerably higher,” suggesting that many motorists did not report damage as they feared it would cause their insurance premiums to soar.

RAC insurance director Mark Godfrey said: “It is one of the most frustrating crimes because of the disruption caused by a moment of selfish intentional criminal damage.

“Not only do many motorists who experience this have to go through the insurance claims process and the time-consuming and inconvenient experience of getting the vehicle repaired, they will also suffer an inevitable premium rise and then have to declare the claim for three years whenever they apply for a new policy.

“In terms of motorists protecting their vehicles against vandalism there is unfortunately very little they can do to avoid a very deliberate action, mindless stupidity, or drunkenness.”

Last week, about 30 vehicles and houses were targeted in Bingley after a man went on what police described as a “mindless spree of damage”.

One victim, Alastair Marsh, had his Honda Jazz damaged when the vandal smashed the passenger window by striking it three times with a large rock.

The same vandal then attacked an Audi on the same street, smashing both the front and back windscreens.

Inquiries are ongoing into the incidents, but Mr Marsh said yesterday: “I’ve had to pay an excess for the glass, as have four or five other people on the estate, so we’re all in the same boat.

“It’s very frustrating, and even if the man is caught, there won’t be any recompense coming our way.”

In response to the data, West Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson said: “As the figures show, there was an increase in damage to vehicles recorded in West Yorkshire in 2015 and 2016, compared to previous years.

“This can in part be attributed to changes in crime recording practices introduced after 2013.

“These changes saw the force record more crimes at the initial stage due to greater compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard, and this substantially increased recorded overall crime figures.

“That said, we understand having a vehicle damaged can have a significant impact on people’s lives, impacting a person’s ability to work and their day-to-day business, as well as causing financial loss. The police and the public need to work together to help prevent these kind of offences occurring in our communities.

“As a force, we record every report of damage to a vehicle made to us and where there are positive lines of inquiry we investigate these offences with prosecutions sought wherever possible.

“Often where there is a spate of vehicle damage offences in a local area, a problem profile will be created with enquiries then led by local officers to get to the bottom of the issue. It can often be the case that one or two offenders are responsible for multiple offences.

“As a force, we also continue to invest in crime prevention work and we have a number of dedicated crime prevention officers across the five districts who are there to help residents protect themselves and their property.”