Householders in a Yate street want police to take action to stop vandals attacking their cars.

Families in Stanshawe Crescent say they are fed up with wing mirrors being broken, bodywork scratched and tyres slashed.

They believe those causing the damage go through the street on their way home from nights out in the town. Although most incidents happen overnight, some have occurred at about 7.30pm.

Hayley Edwards, 22, said her family had experienced five attacks in six months.

The children's play ranger said: "For the past year we've just had continuous vandalism of cars.

"Most of the houses don't have drives, so the cars are left in the street. The first time it happened, three or four cars had their tyres slashed, including one from our household."

Hayley said her sisters, Natalie, 25, a teacher, and Kirsty, 19, a law student, as well as her HGV driver dad, David, 51, had all been victims of the vandals.

She said: "The most recent incident happened when a visitor to our house popped in for five minutes and when he went out, both wing mirrors on his car had been broken off.

"On one occasion I couldn't drive to work because the mirror on the driver's side of my car had been broken."

Hayley said it was expensive to keep repairing the damage, with wing mirrors about £70 or £80 each. She said residents were unhappy that the police did not always go to the street when incidents were reported.

She said: "We have been repeatedly told that these crimes are being written down and that the police do not have the resources to send out a patrol vehicle every time.

"We are not asking for this. We appreciate the police have many more serious crimes to deal with. But perhaps a patrol car could come around a couple of nights a week."

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she had suffered tyres being slashed and mirrors broken.

She said: "People coming from the shopping centre can cut through this road."

Police said victims of the vandals might not always report cases to them and Hayley urged her neighbours to contact officers every time there was an attack.

Yate neighbourhood PC Giles Sutton said: "We are not aware of a significant problem with damage to cars in Stanshawe Crescent. I would urge anyone who experiences a crime to report it so that we have an accurate picture of what is happening and can respond accordingly."

"We do appreciate the impact of persistent damage on people's lives and this is the sort of thing which can be raised as a local policing priority."

He said people could also attend their local artners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting to raise concerns. The next one in Yate is at 7pm on June 4 at Brimsham Green School.