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Ex Honda employee has car stamped on

9:20am Monday 5th January 2009

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STAN Akhurst was hoping for a festive family getaway away from Swindon and a chance to put the end of a rough year behind him.

But instead Stan’s Christmas break to Buckfastleigh in Dartmoor with wife Joanna and son Sid, 13, was wrecked when vandals stomped on his mint-condition Toyota Avensis, leaving him with a huge repair bill.

Stan, from Covingham, bought the £6,300 car three weeks ago with a slice of the payout he received from Honda.

He had opted for voluntary redundancy on December 19 and had bought the car so he could get around when he got his next job.

But when the family woke on Christmas Eve morning they discovered two huge dents on the roof causing damage estimated to be about £2,000.

Stan said: “To be honest it has ruined Christmas really.

“Everyone in Buckfastleigh was friendly and welcoming and we thought it was a wonderful place. But when I saw the damage done to the car and thought about what it would cost it felt like a kick in the stomach.”

The Akhursts, who are regular visitors to Dartmoor, were staying in a cottage and had left their car in a nearby street overnight on December 23.

Stan believes that at some time during the night youths clambered over the top of it, leaving footprints.

“I know your car can get damaged in any town and it was a couple of rogue elements in Buckfastleigh that did the damage.

“Until then we had nothing but a warm welcome from the people there.

“What upsets me the most is that this wasn’t a dent from a trolley in a supermarket car park, it wasn’t an accidental scratch from someone getting into the car next to yours, it was a deliberate act of vandalism.

“Even on the night we came back I could hear the youths outside again drinking and throwing bottles.

“It’s caused me no end of stress and would make me reluctant to return to Buckfastleigh despite everybody else being really nice.”

Stan has left notes with the landlord of the pub close to where his car was vandalised and the local Costcutter offering a £100 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprits.

Despite enjoying much of the family’s break, Stan is happy to be back in Swindon.

“I’m just not looking forward getting the estimate next week,” he said.


Your Say YourThis Is Wiltshire

Big Mac, Old Town says...
9:35am Mon 5 Jan 09

Join the club Mr Akhurst, I don't know many people who haven't had their car broken into, vandalised or criminally damaged in some way at some time or another.

Yes, it does make you feel sick.

It's just a real shame that nothing's ever done about it by the police and courts.

The only glimmer of hope on the horizon is that so many people are now so fed up of the repair bills caused by these moronic idiots that local communities are setting up patrols over certain days and nights in order to, er, 'remind' these criminals that maybe it's best if they don't damage other people's property.

Once word gets round that a few of them have had their fingers broken as a prize for being dim enough to kick a wing mirror off we should soon see a decline in such behaviour.

Fagin, Swindon , Old Town says...
11:53am Mon 5 Jan 09

Broken fingers are not a sufficient penalty . Far better to get them to court and insist on full reparation and punitive damages . It just needs a small amendment to the law . Hitting them in their pockets would make the vandals think twice , being deprived of their nicotine and alcohol ; and , of course , their aerosol cans .

I suspect , however , that New Labour would think this penalises the great unwashed , unfairly .

nansview, Swindon says...
12:11pm Mon 5 Jan 09

Groups of vigilantes rampaging streets prepared to harm people and brake bones does nothing to make me feel better. Lets hope that these patrols are going to be very sure that they have the culprits before they physically attack them and not just some poor lad in the wrong place at the wrong time. Will it be a case of he's about 17, wears a hoodie, got to be bad, he must have vandalised the car, he'l do! it's dangerous enough out there for lads, without having to dodge vigilante groups as well as thugs. It's scary that if they start with broken fingers which inflicting this on someone else would personally make me shiver, let's hope they don't get carried away and cause someone serious harm, which would make them no better than violent criminals themselves.

Big Mac, Old Town says...
3:05pm Mon 5 Jan 09

If no cars are damaged, nansview, then nobody will be at risk of injury.

It's all very simple.

The idea of the patrols is to provide a presence to deter people in the first place and only to act against people caught in the act.

Nobody is interested in 'educating' somebody who's done nothing wrong.

Jackanory, Swindon says...
4:19pm Mon 5 Jan 09

Oh dear I see that the local tenny bopper boys Tory party is at it again. For god sake GROW up because it would not matter WHO was in power you would still have the yobs. One wonders with your posts if you are not one of them and enjoy taking the p**s on this board

tarot, Swindon says...
7:14pm Mon 5 Jan 09

My vote goes with the vigilantes, quicker and more effective than the courts and the culprit learns a very important life lesson.

This has been a long time coming and I have said in previous posts, if the courts wont deal with the mobs then the people will.

her_in_doors2, swindon says...
7:19pm Mon 5 Jan 09

Arrest them then they fail to turn up to court and no-one can find them - what a waste of money. You need proof and when you do have no-one wants to know.
Bring back the birch - one punishment sorts all crimes

Big Mac, Old Town says...
8:00pm Mon 5 Jan 09

Jackanory said:

"For god sake GROW up because it would not matter WHO was in power you would still have the yobs."

Yes, I agree, we would.

However, it would be nice to finally have a government who don't openly support criminals over their victims, don't you think?

Even Jack Straw (our Justic Minister FFS) has publically said:

"Justice system should put victims first"

Which very clearly implies he doesn't think it currently does - otherwise there'd be no point saying it.

Read it here:

tinyurl.com/57b48a

The problem is, Jack Straw only ever says what he knows the public want to hear. Labour have been putting criminals first for over 11 years, they're not going to change now.


TheBluesBrother, Swindon says...
3:05pm Tue 6 Jan 09

I hope that Stan Akhurst has filled in a risk assessment form as per the Health and Safety laws, because if the people who stomped on his car roof had slipped and fell off they could have sued him.

redrobin, swindon says...
3:41pm Tue 6 Jan 09

TheBluesBrother----L
OL . GET YOUR DRIFT !! . STAN THE MAN A LEGEND. DID HE UPSET ANYONE BEFORE HE LEFT ??

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