Police have moved quickly to dispel any child molester fears in the Townstal area of Dartmouth following a series of vandal attacks in which the word 'paedo' was spray-painted across three cars.

All four tyres on the cars in Seymour Drive, Davis Road and Britannia Avenue were slashed and the vehicles attacked with black spray paint some time on Thursday night or Friday morning last week

Police believe that each of the cars was deliberately targeted by the attacker but there appears to be no reason for the vandalism – particularly the spray painted word 'paedo'.

A Dartmouth police spokesman said: 'Police have looked into each of the vehicles and the statement written on the vehicles is untrue, unfounded and completely slanderous.

'There is no evidence that anyone – the drivers or anyone involved with any of the vehicles – is in any way or connected to a paedophile.

'It appears that all three vehicles have been targeted but for unknown reasons at this time.

'No other vehicles were damaged on the route between the three vehicles and these people appear to have gone out of their way to attack them by going on to peoples' driveways.'

The attacks have caused some £1,000 damage to each of the cars – a Ford Focus, a Renault Megane and a Nissan Cabstar.

Police are now appealing for help from anyone who may have their own CCTV cameras set up in the area of the attacks which could help officers.

'We are asking if anyone has CCTV installed along any of the roads mentioned or adjoining roads who have not already been spoken to could they contact the police.

'We have already got quite a lot of CCTV to review and we are still carrying out house to house enquiries.'

On the same night there was an attempt to steal a car in Victory Road, Dartmouth, and the theft of a motorcycle from Britannia Avenue.

In Victory Road, someone caused £200 damage by forcing open a door on Vauxhall Corsa car before ripping out ignition wires in a failed attempt to hot-wire it.

The Huoniao 125 cc motorcycle was wheeled away from the alley where it was parked in the area of the St John ambulance station in Collingwood Road. It was hot-wired and ridden around before being dumped in a field gate area at the bottom of Hermitage Road.

The joyriders appear to have dropped the bike near the ambulance station, where a section of the machine's handlebar was discovered, before cutting the wires using a set of shears.

The police spokesman explained that the machine was particularly loud and appealed for anyone who may have seen anything suspicious and heard the motorcycle being ridden, to contact them.

'It was very loud and would have woken people up,' he said.