A mother who relies on her car for hospital appointments says her family have been left “absolutely terrified” after vandals attacked their vehicles two days after she collected her new car.
The Pontypool woman, who asked not to be named, woke on Monday, November 2, to find her Motability car and her partner’s work van covered in black spray paint.
She collected the new vehicle from a Cardiff dealership on Saturday, October 31, to help manage her serious health problems.
It had just 40 miles on the clock when she drove it home.
But less than 48 hours later, the family opened their blinds to find both vehicles vandalised.
CCTV footage appears to show a man approaching the home before returning to damage the vehicles.
The mother believes the attack was targeted and says she has barely slept since it happened.
She said: "I feel absolutely terrified. I've not slept. I'm watching CCTV like a hawk.
"It's definitely impacted everything, and because I'm also extremely unwell, it hasn't helped my health at all."
For the mother, the damage is about far more than a car.
Her health means she spends much of her time travelling to hospital, making the Motability car essential to her daily life.
She explained: "I have two hospital appointments tomorrow alone, one at 10 and one at one. I'm at hospital more times than I am at home because of how my health is.
"Having to drive in that car, people are staring at you. They're looking at you like I've done something wrong.
"It's bad enough being disabled and having walking aids. I don't like being looked at anyway."
The family have been quoted around £600 for professional repairs.
Her partner has spent hours scrubbing spray paint from his work van, while the damage has affected his work and community activities.
But the couple say the worst part has been watching their nine-year-old daughter become frightened in her own home.
The mother said her daughter, who has helped care for her through years of illness, cannot understand why anyone would do this to their family.
She said: "She's such a loving girl. She's so kind and caring, but she's also such an emotional child.
“She’s had to grow up quickly because I've been poorly most of her life.
"She saw the stress of me and my partner, and that upset her too.
"We try our best not to show that in front of her, but when we all opened the door and saw what had happened, we couldn't hide how we felt."
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The family have installed extra security cameras to protect their home.
She says she now worries about things she had never considered, including how her family would escape in an emergency.
She said: "You shouldn't have to live like that. I've never thought about how we might need to get out of the house in an emergency before.
"I'm terrified."
The family were already considering moving because their home is unsuitable for her health needs.
Now, she says, they feel even more pressure to move.
“Being terrified in your own home, on top of everything else, means we will need to move sooner rather than later,” she said.
Amid the distress, the family have found comfort in their neighbours’ kindness.
Neighbours, including strangers, have offered cleaning products, advice and practical help as the couple try to restore their vehicles.
The mother said: "We've had lots of lovely people from the neighbourhood come and find us to try and help.
"We've had neighbours bring us cleaning stuff to try. People we don't even know have come up with options to help.
"We've lived here four or five years and we always keep ourselves to ourselves. We just did not expect to wake up to this."
A Gwent Police spokesperson said: "We’re investigating reports of criminal damage on Llandegfedd Way, New Inn, Pontypool.
"An unknown person is believed to have sprayed two parked vehicles with paint at around 2.35am on Monday 2 November.
"Enquiries are ongoing and anyone who witnessed the alleged damage or has any relevant information can contact us on 101, report it via our website or direct message us on our Facebook or X social media channels, quoting log references 2600357922 and 2600359136.
"Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website."
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