A 21-YEAR-OLD driver said it was "heartbreaking" to discover his car had been vandalised and that CCTV could have stopped it happening.

The man, from Shaftesbury, said his car was damaged after being left in the Lush House car park in Queen Elizabeth Gardens overnight on Saturday (April 15).

When he returned to pick the car up on Sunday, at about 1pm, he found the windscreen shattered, wing mirror covers snapped off with one mirror hanging off, and scuffs, scratches and dents to his Volkswagen Golf.

He said: "I was absolutely gutted, I’d saved and worked hard for my car, it is my pride and joy.

"Being a 2010 plate it may not seem like a ‘new’ car to most people, but like I said, I saved hard for it and worked hard for it. It was my first ‘new’ or modern car as such, and I was devastated that someone could joy in smashing it up.

"I always keep it in immaculate condition inside and out and to see it damaged was heartbreaking, I did actually feel quite sick about it."

The police were called and "were very swift", arriving within 15 minutes. The car owner was informed there would be no CCTV footage of the damage, as Salisbury's CCTV remains switched off.

The owner said this was "ridiculous", adding: "It's a serious problem that I think the council need to sort out desperately to deter crimes like this, as a lot of them have been happening.

"I just think it’s really sad how things have come to this, damaging people's property isn’t nice and there is no reason for it.

"It feels like you can’t be safe in any public area in Salisbury especially as the cctv has been switched off and it is a serious situation that needs to be sorted immediately."

Call police on 101 with any information.