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Supporters' reward to catch vandals
After watching Lancashire football team Preston North End lose at home Helen Dinsdale thought her night could not get much worse.
But when she returned to her car, she found it had been smashed and vandalised by yobs.
Helen, 26, a Deepdale season ticket holder, parked in her usual spot in Lilac Grove, Deepdale, Preston, for the match against Newcastle United on Monday.
She claims there was a gang of youths hanging around and when she returned to her green Skoda Octavia a brick had been put through the windscreen and the bodywork was scratched.
Helen's dad Nick Dinsdale, 55, was among the group of seven which went to the match and has offered a reward of 250 to help catch the vandals.
He said: "I have been attending for years and years, I have been taking my daughters for the past 15 years.
"My wife and I have three season tickets.
"My daughter drove from Manchester and there was a group of lads at the end of the street shouting something about parking.
"There was a building brick through the car window.
"They had smashed the window and used a metallic device and carved 'Pay up' and scratched the whole bonnet and car wings.
"The annoying thing is if we had been away support I could understand it.
"You think if you park up on the streets of Preston, you are not going to get your car trashed.
"It is not as though we were taking car parking spaces.
"There are very few vehicles that park in that area.
"There are always parking spaces available."
Helen, who lives and works in Manchester as a health and safety and environmental advisor, said: "We have been parking there for the past 10 or 12 years and never had a problem.
"The group of youths must have thought I was somebody else.
"There was a group of lads shouting, 'Your car is not safe'. We have not had any bother before."
Preston Police was unavailable for comment.
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Weather for Preston
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -6 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
