It is believed that at least three residents in Francis Gardens have had their walls and pillars destroyed in the early hours of the morning recently.

Resident Paul Archer (50) said: “They are kicking the walls down. They have already kicked three walls around here. First they go for the coping stones on top, and then they can easily get to the wall itself.

“When we moved from the other side of Dogsthorpe, we thought we had got away from all the trouble, and now this happens to us. We’ve instead decided to take the wall down completely.”

Another person living in the area, Ken Savage said: “We had our wall knocked down and we just decided to leave it as it is because it would cost a lot of money to rebuild. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we or anyone else can do about it. “

North ward councillor Keith Sharp blamed the vandalism on groups of youths who use Francis Gardens as a rat run between New England and Paston.

Cllr Sharp said: “They have kicked down walls on a number of occasions, even after they have been rebuilt.

“As usual, the answer is better policing or catching these people on CCTV cameras.”

Graham Clark, director of the Greater Dogsthorpe Partnership, added: “We’re going to see if the police can catch these culprits. But there must be parents out there wondering where their kids are during the night. So we urge anyone out there who knows any information, to come forward.”