82-year-old 'frightened' to live at her Bognor home after being repeatedly targeted by vandals

Police have received reports of ornamental pigs being stolen from a home in Van Gogh Place in North Bersted as well as neighbour's garden features being smashed to pieces.

Ornamental pigs smashed and stolen from Bognor Regis gardensGerry Thomas, 69, is speaking out after his mother-in-law, 82, and father-in-law, 85, fell victim to a spree of vandalism in their North Bersted home.

Police are looking to speak with two boys and a girl aged about 16-17 in connection with the incidents.

Gerry said: "They just do as they like, it doesn't bear thinking about. You can't put anything out and keep it safe, it is wanton damage.

"Mum's frightened to live there now. You just don't know who is going to be in the garden or trying to break in. What is the point in having a nice garden? She had the nicest garden.

"My mother-in-law was quite upset — when she told us that the gnomes had gone she was in tears. We have had to hide them."

£200 worth of garden ornaments were stolen and taken to an alleyway nearby where they were destroyed. The remaining items, worth about £400, have been hidden to protect them from the vandals.

"I'd put them in the army for three years," said Gerry, "it would teach some manners. I can understand more if they took them home but the fact that they went and smashed them is something else — I can't see the reasoning in that.

"Probably a lot of people don't know that this is going on but I understand this has happened to a lot of people. I wouldn't have got away with it when I was their age, my parents would have called the police on me.

Gerry said he cannot understand why the teens were out on the streets at 1am.

Anyone with information is asked to report online or call 101 quoting serial 868 of 20/07.