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Those were the words of Oli Hicklin, a director at Bognor Motors, after four cars outside the business’ Christie Place garage were vandalised late last night (Monday, March 23), causing at least £2,000 worth of damage.

Oli added: “We’re just left disappointed that this would happen at a time when this country is supposed to be pulling together.

“We need to work together on this and treat each other fairly [but] at 11 o’clock on the night we’ve gone into lockdown, you get this.

Bognor Motors general manager Simon Davies (left) and director Oli Hicklin with one of the vandalised vehicles

“It’s very irresponsible and they should be observing the lockdown rather than running up the road and smashing vehicles up. It’s absolutely shocking.

“I was just devastated when I came in this morning when we are all trying to be positive for each other.”

Oli said staff are still working and serving customers during the coronavirus pandemic but on a ‘zero contact basis’.

“We are, at the minute, classed as an essential business so we are open and very much adhering to the government’s guidelines,” he said.

Police said the wing mirrors had been taken off two cars and the windscreens smashed off two other cars, all parked on the forecourt of Bognor Motors

“All staff are two metres apart and we’ve got zero contact with customers.

“We need to keep people on the road and we’ve got a priority service for the NHS and emergency workers.

“The interruption of the coronavirus has probably slashed our income by about 50 per cent as no one is renting or buying vehicles.

“[The £2,000] is a cost the business has got to pay out and it’s money we don’t need to be spending.

“We’ve got 20 staff here and every penny does count to keep these people employed at probably the toughest time we are all ever going to go through in our lives.”

Sussex Police confirmed an investigation is underway.

A spokesman said: “At 11.15am on Tuesday, March 24, we received a report that during the night, wing mirrors had been taken off two cars and the windscreens smashed off two other cars, all parked on the forecourt of Bognor Motors, Christie Place, Bognor.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Sussex Police online at https://www.sussex.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/ or by calling 101, quoting serial 364 of 24/03.”

Oli said he hopes the ‘amazing’ Bognor community will help to identify any suspects.

He added: “Hopefully we can catch these people.

“We are just gutted and totally lost for words that it would even happen.”

Cars ‘smashed up’ outside Bognor business - ‘This is a time where we are supposed to be pulling together but we get this mindless vandalism’