RESIDENTS in Little-moor fear they will not see criminals brought to justice because street lights have been turned off.

Two car owners awoke to find their vehicles burnt out after overnight attacks.

April Saunders, whose car was completely destroyed, said she has been left feeling “unsafe” in her own home.

Miss Saunders, a single mother, fled the house with her eight-year-old daughter, fearing the car, which was parked on the driveway next to the house, would explode.

She said: “I’m just in total shock. My daughter’s a nervous wreck and wants to move.

“It’s such a shame some people have to give this place such a bad reputation, because it’s lovely.

“But I do feel unsafe after this.”

Miss Saunders, 37, said she did not expect the vandals to be caught because CCTV in the area would not pick up images now that street lights have been turned off.

Her father Brian said he believed something had been used to start the fire.

He said: “No evidence of a bottle or anything was found in the car, but there is speculation that something was used because the fire was so fierce.”

Shortly before the incident on Buddleia Close, at around 4am, fire crews had been tackling another car fire in Clayton Close.

Owner Jacqui Dunford said she was “mortified” by the attack.

She said: “The car was parked on the road, so we didn’t know about it until the fire officer came knocking on the door in the middle of the night.

“When I saw it in the light of day I burst into tears.”

Mrs Dunford, 42, hit out at young vandals and their parents.

It is the second time she has had her car damaged while living on the estate.

She said: “They have their five minutes of fun but it’s pathetic that they have no respect for other people’s property.

“I have a son of nearly 16 and there’s no way he’d do that.”

A spokesman for Dorset Police could not confirm the two fires, which happened in the early hours of Friday, were linked.

Inspector Pete Meteau, of Weymouth Police, said: “We are taking this incident very seriously.

“We are increasing patrols in the area and are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information to get in touch with us on the non-emergency number 101.

“The investigation into this incident is continuing.”

No plans to restore lights

DORSET County Council says it has no plans to turn street lights in Littlemoor back on.

The county council has agreed to a programme of part-night street lighting as part of its plans to save £55m over three years.

It was first trialled in rural villages before it was decided in February 2011 to roll it out to residential streets.

The cuts come after central government funding was reduced.

A spokesman for the county council said Dorset had a total of 42,000 street lights.

“Part night lighting is not appropriate in town centres, high crime areas, roads with high traffic flows, areas with road humps, roundabouts and other high-risk areas.

“The policy is to turn the street lights off between midnight and 5.30am where it is appropriate, such as at Littlemoor.

“Nothing has changed at Littlemoor – including the crime rates – since we turned the lights off there, so we have no plans to turn them back on.”

Wave of attacks

LITTLEMOOR has suffered a spate of attacks on cars recently, with children as young as 14 being blamed for some incidents.

A car was destroyed in a suspected arson attack on the estate in April, and Dorset Police linked the incident to unattended car thefts in the area.

In December last year, Thomas Jones of Portland had his fiancé’s car targeted when he borrowed it to offer respite relief to a child with severe autism on Castlemaine Road.

The car was scratched and slashed, and the tyres were punctured.

In October, single mother Joanne Hope, of Brisbane Road, was left without transport after her car was torched in a spate of arson.

And in May, more than 40 cars were damaged in a 20-minute spree of vandalism across at least seven Littlemoor streets.