Vandalism over the bank holiday in The Avenue and surrounding areas of Newton Abbot has annoyed and upset residents and businesses. Bedding plants were uprooted, mature shrubs destroyed, vomit puddled the pavement, a gate and fence struts were removed and car bonnets dented in the early hours of Monday morning. Julie Tucker, of The Avenue, said: 'This is the final straw. The noise, violence and vandalism have got worse ever since the licensing laws were changed.' Human excreta has previously been left in the Tucker's back garden, and she is disturbed by 'ranting and raving and fighting' every weekend. Mrs Tucker's garden was vandalised on Monday: her plants pulled up and a large fuchsia bush was snapped off and left in the road outside. 'My father, who died in 1999, planted that fuchsia,' said Mrs Tucker. A few doors along Kate and Chris Daulton had parts of their fence removed and strewn along the pavement. 'I found the fence had been vandalised when I took the dogs out first thing on Monday morning. It was obviously the work of people who'd had too much to drink. The noise levels and bad behaviour have got much worse lately. There used to be one burst of rowdiness when the pubs turned out, but now it's episodic, in spates, and goes on until 3am. I reported the damage to the police. I know they are very busy, and I don't want to add to their workload, but I do wish something could be done to stop this.' Mr Daulton said: 'The noise and vandalism are constant every weekend. There's also trouble round the back of the houses – car mirrors are regularly ripped off.' Another neighbour, Frank Ryder, said: 'There were beer cans in my front garden on Monday morning. We were told about two years ago that a CCTV camera would be installed to stop the vandalism – but so far that hasn't happened. Why do these people keep damaging our property? It's really not very nice.' The Avenue car dealership, Murray Volkswagen, also suffered from vandalism on Sunday night. Four cars were criminally damaged. 'It's not the first time vehicles have been damaged,' said operations manager Andrew Smale. 'Six to eight cars have all suffered bonnet damage. It costs a lot of money each time vandalism occurs.' A new CCTV camera will now be installed at Murray Volkswagen and there will be additional security measures as a result of the trouble on Sunday night. Enigma nightclub, in Kingsteignton Road, stayed open until 2am on Sunday night for the Bank Holiday. However, manager Sue Ewan said: 'It was a nice peaceful and relaxed night on Sunday. There were no incidents of bad behaviour in the club. We have no problems with alcohol or drugs. Enigma is attended by people aged 18 to 80, and 342 people attended on Sunday night.' Enigma has 32 CCTV cameras on the property, and these are constantly monitored. 'The vandalism in The Avenue is regrettable,' said Mrs Ewan. 'It could be caused by people leaving local pubs.' Police in Newton Abbot are mounting several special operations against drunkenness and vandalism. Operation Iago sends out extra patrols on Friday and Saturday nights, Operation Damsay aims to prevent the damage caused by youths leaving pubs and clubs, and Operation Grimsay spot checks for underage drinking. Teignbridge councillor David Howe said: 'I am aware of the problems in The Avenue, but I was not aware of the issue of a CCTV camera. It's a matter of funding and ducting – these cameras are expensive, and there is no ducting, no direct route to beam a signal back to the control room.'
