A gang of vandals took a young child with them as they smashed up more than 30 cars overnight.

Neighbours in Barn Rise, Seaford, woke to find their windscreens, passenger windows and lights had been shattered with a precision hammer.

Many were forced to take the day off work to clear dangerous fragments of glass covering their upholstery and strewn across their driveways.

Although most of the cars will have been covered by insurance, many owners said they would have to pay excess charges, meaning the damage could run into thousands of pounds.

Receptionist Shirlee McCourty, 48, said: "I cannot believe this has happened. It is absolutely sickening.

"I'm so angry because of all the mess and the devastation. It's just mindless because nothing was taken."

Mrs McCourty was in bed with her husband Stuart, 43, at 4am yesterday when she heard noises outside.

She said: "My husband saw two or three men and a child aged six or seven outside.

"The adults were laughing. We just fell asleep again.

"Then at 6am my neighbour was outside. I opened the bedroom window and just saw this horrible mess."

Mr McCourty's green Fiat Tipo had been vandalised along with dozens of family cars including Vauxhalls, Volvos, Fiestas and people carriers.

She said: "We dialled 999 and began sweeping up the glass, which was everywhere.

"My husband had to take the day off because they could only put plastic sheeting over the windows."

The gang is believed to have used an auto centre punch - a sophisticated hammer no bigger than a pen which can break safety glass with minimal effort.

Cars were also targeted in Belvedere Rise and Salisbury Road.

The vandals struck at about the same time several properties nearby were burgled.

It was the latest in a spate of incidents which has turned the once-quiet seaside area into a crime hot spot.

Mrs McCourty said: "We are just fed up with all this.

"We never used to see this sort of thing in Seaford."

Her neighbour Roberta Francis, 53, noticed her Vauxhall Astra had been smashed at 5.30am.

She said: "I was absolutely sick. It was smashed just for the pure fun of it."

A spokesman for Sussex Police was unable to provide witnesses' descriptions or confirm the number of cars damaged.