Pensioner's car '˜keyed' as he shopped in Chichester supermarket

Pensioner Paul Fisher said the damage to his car was 'mindless vandalism'.

Paul Fisher said he asked staff at Sainsbury’s in Westhampnett Road for help when he returned from his grocery shopping to find scratches cut into the paintwork on both sides of his car on Saturday.

He said a store security guard reported the incident to the police, but that with no CCTV covering the car park, the case had been closed.

Paul said: “It’s a real nuisance. I’m getting quotes now to get it repaired and the first one said it normally costs £200 to £250 a panel and this is three.

“I’m a pensioner now, that’s a great deal of money.”

He added that whoever had vandalised his car appeared to have used a sharp screwdriver as opposed to a key from the shape of the cut, and that he had no known grievances with anyone in the area.

“You can actually stick your nail in it, it’s that deep, it’s done for maximum damage,” Paul said.

When Paul approached staff at the supermarket, he said some staff members mentioned that similar incidents had been happening in the car park as often as ‘every week or so’.

Sainsbury’s have been contacted for comment. It is not yet clear who manages the car park, which is also shared by the soon-to-close BHS.

Police confirmed that they were contacted about the damage to the grey Peugeot 407, which allegedly occurred at about 1pm.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on [email protected], quoting serial 824 of 30/07.