A car dealership has seen two branches broken into in one night, with one franchise being only a week old.

Thieves entered two of Barrett's showrooms on the night of Monday, May 20, causing extensive damage to a number of cars as they stripped them for parts.

The co-ordinated attack centred on the motor dealer's Orbital Park and Waterbrook Avenue sites - the latter having only been in operation for about a week.

A police spokeswoman said: "Overnight between Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21, five vehicles are reported to have been damaged, three of which were parked at the Barretts site in Waterbrook Avenue and two were at a second site in The Parade.

"Car windows have been smashed and items including front and rear headlights along with wing mirrors have been reported stolen from the vehicles.

"Officers are carrying out enquiries and reviewing all CCTV opportunities. In the meantime, anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/96591/19."

Paul Barrett, who runs 18 locations across the county, said: "I think it was targeted, I don't think it was an opportunist attack.

"It's been going on - the theft of car parts - for years. I understand they take the light units for use on cannabis farms, or they are just stealing them for re-sale.

"Yes it's irritating, it's annoying and expensive to repair the cars. The cost of fixing the damage is always more expensive than the amount of money they are getting from selling them.

"This has happened in the past, but not for a while. I don't think it's anything to do with location, we had some vehicles on the other site and parts were taken from there.

"We've had issues with theft of car parts on our original site. I think it's sadly a sign of the times.

"I don't feel any less secure at Waterbrook than anywhere else, but it's given us a reason to beef up security on the site. We've got 24-hour security there and the truckstop staff are helping us.

"It's not plausible to bring every car inside every night, but we're taking whatever precautions we can.

"I'm not suddenly thinking 'Oh no, we shouldn't have gone to Waterbrook Park', I think it's absolutely the right place for us."

The new Barretts facility is only a temporary structure, playing host to the car dealer until a new Barretts Jaguar showroom is constructed as part of the £150 million Waterbrook Park Development.

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