POLICE are probing claims that ‘thoughtless’ vandals heaved granite boulders off of Tavistock’s historic viaduct and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a brand-new car parked below.

People living in King Street say they were woken by the sound of a massive crash in the early hours of Monday after boulders were said to have punched a hole in the windshield of a Mercedes parked some 70 feet below the former railway viaduct.

The missiles also badly damaged the bonnet of the vehicle, with a large dent caving it in so that parts of the engine could be seen.

Police confirmed they were carrying out an investigation of the incident, which local West Devon Borough councillor Jeff Moody condemned as ‘thoughtless’.

The partner of the car’s owner, who did not want to be named, said it was thought the damage was caused to the Mercedes at around 4am on Monday.

She said the Mercedes is a disability vehicle for her partner, who suffered severe back injuries in a road accident.

The woman said: ‘The car itself is brand new and we got it eight months ago. We moved down from London to get away from this sort of thing and then this happens.’

She added: ‘A car is a car and can be replaced, but if somebody had been walking along here at the time and they had been hit by one of these rocks, it could easily have killed them. The car is insured, but we have to pay the excess of £100, which we can’t really afford.’

A neighbour who also heard the crash said the area around the viaduct had recently been plagued by vandalism to cars.

He said numberplates of vehicles in nearby Bannawell Street had been tampered with or completely ripped from cars.

And he added that another incident had seen a pipe dropped off the viaduct, which had smashed into pieces when it hit the road below.

West Devon Borough councilor Jeff Moody admitted he was concerned about the incident, which another resident believed had occurred up to two hours earlier than 4am.

Cllr Moody said: ‘It is silly behaviour - it is thoughtless and I hope nobody was hurt.

‘I know people are getting bored with lockdown, but why would you want to do something like this at 4am?