RESIDENTS woke up horrified to discover a vandal had gone on a late- night rampage and slashed the tyres of nine cars in one street.

The vehicles, parked in Blackledge Street, Daubhill, appear to have been randomly targeted on Monday night.

It is thought the damage will cost the motorists more than £1,000 to repair.

The vandals struck between 11pm on Monday and 5am on Tuesday.

The cars damaged include a Vauxhall Corsa, two Vauxhall Astra’s, a Proton, a Volkswagen Golf, a Vauxhall Vectra, a Renault Clio, a Toyota and a Peugeot.

It is not known what the vandal used to slash the tyres.

Ch Insp Jon Percival said: “There are a lot of victims who will have not been able to get to work, drop the children at school or go about their daily business because of this.

“We are doing house to house inquiries and are appealing to anyone with information to get in touch with us. “It was not the best weather and people may have noticed people out acting suspiciously.

“We are particularly interested in any CCTV people might have on their homes. This will cost people to fix as it won’t be worth claiming on insurance, and it is not a cost people want just before Christmas. It could mean children not getting presents, or the cost of a Christmas dinner.”

One car owner, who asked not to be named, said: “The police woke me and told me, it was a shock to see them on the doorstep.

“It seems to be a random attack. What can you do?

We have never had anything like this happen before.”

Another, who also asked not to be named, added: “I cannot understand why anyone would do this, what do they get out of it?

“I am very annoyed.”