Frustrated motorists across the district are counting the cost after falling victim to a car window smashing spree that has left dozens of vehicles damaged.

An elderly man who was left housebound and a pregnant woman who could not reach a medical appointment are among those who have been affected by the recent spate of vandalism.

Facebook groups for Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have been inundated with almost daily reports of car windows being smashed, in seemingly random locations.

The vandals appear to typically strike at night – leaving owners to find a scene of destruction and car seats showered in glass as they set out for the day.

While a few incidents have involved petty theft, most of the cases have been described as “mindless” acts of vandalism in which nothing has been stolen.

Last week, a van owned by Ability Plus – a Kent firm that supplies and maintains equipment for those with limited mobility – was targeted.

Chief executive Benjamin Johnson was alerted to the attack after police found the vehicle with a smashed window last Tuesday morning.

Mr Johnson said: “The van is used by the company’s engineers, who travel to customers to mend and service mobility scooters. It’s usually parked outside our premises in Herne Bay, but there’s some work going on so it was parked on the seafront.

“Our engineers came in on Tuesday with a whole day of appointments booked to fix scooters, but because of the vandalism they weren’t able to reach our customers.

“We had one man who was housebound because his scooter was broken, and our engineers couldn’t reach him – understandably he was very upset. The cost of replacing the window is a couple of hundred quid, but the real cost is the impact it has on our clients.

“There was a sat nav in the van which wasn’t taken, which makes me think this was just mindless vandalism.”

The previous month, John McDonnell returned from a three-day business trip to Paris to find his car window had been smashed in outside Whitstable Station. He had to pay out £85 in insurance excess for the pane to be replaced and the glass to be cleaned from the inside the car.

“It’s very annoying,” he said. “I’m lucky - I’m insured for this kind of damage so I only had to pay an excess. But for someone who hasn’t got window insurance, this could affect their no claims bonus and they could have to pay hundreds of pounds, just for reckless vandalism.”

Hannah Temple discovered the window of her car, parked in Maple Gardens in Hersden, had been smashed when she was about to leave home last week.

She said: “I’m seven months pregnant and was on my way to an appointment so it was hugely inconvenient.

“There was glass in my baby’s car seat in the back of my car, and I found a stone they must have used to break the window.

“I had nothing of value in my car, but they did steal my coat.”

Just two days later, three more car windows were reported smashed: one in Baddlesmere Road, Whitstable, another in Northwood Road, and a further vehicle in Maiden Lane, Wincheap, from which a purse was also stolen.

Last month, the Gazette reported that a Canterbury Christ Church University student had compiled a damning dossier of evidence of car windows being smashed on a city centre housing estate.

Tia Chapman recorded more than 25 incidents in which vehicles had windows smashed since she moved into Spring Lane in September.

Police have since investigated the spate of vandalism on the estate, but no developments have yet been made.

When questioned about the apparent spike in car vandalism across the district as a whole, police say they do not believe there to be a connection between incidents.

Instead, they suggested the attacks are likely to be the work of “opportunistic thieves” who are making use of the shorter days.

Sergeant Nicholas Barton from the Canterbury Community Safety Unit said: “With the darker evenings approaching there are more opportunities for thieves to take advantage so make sure your cars are locked and all valuables are removed when unattended.”