Sheffield family appeal for information after vandals target their cars in acid attack

Andy Gratton, 33, from Millhouses, has been left “unsettled” and now fears for his young family’s safety after vandals squirted both of their cars with ‘acid’.

The father-of-two says one of the family’s vehicles, a Landrover Discovery, was parked on Carterknowle Road, while the other, an Audi A4, was on nearby Montrose Road as they had a skip on their drive.

He believes both cars were damaged with the unknown substance in the early hours of Thursday, April 16.

“I was working until late on Wednesday night and didn’t hear anything when I went to bed at 2am,” Andy said. “I went downstairs on Thursday morning around 7am thinking that, because the skip had gone, I’d put the car back on the drive.

“When I got to the car I thought that’s odd as it looked like it had a frost over it. As I touched it it burnt my fingers so I realised it was an acid type substance.”

After speaking to a family member, Andy went to check on the second vehicle only to discover it had also been vandalised.

He added: “There were no other vehicles damaged at all. We moved to Millhouses as we thought it was a reasonably quiet and safe area. To have a young family and to have only lived here for three months is very unsettling.

“It’s a concern from my perspective because I don’t know if there is someone out there that has a personal issue or somebody is just observing the area.

“When I’ve spoken to people on the road there have been other families who have had the same damage while their cars were on the same drive. The thing that’s unsettling is the fact they knew both those vehicles belonged to me, it’s not like they’ve gone onto our drive, they must have seen me at two different times.”

Andy and his wife, who is currently on maternity leave from her job as a midwife, contacted South Yorkshire Police but were told there was nothing that could be done due to a shortage in resources.

According to Andy, there is little CCTV in the area so the chances of catching those responsible are minimal.

“If it is random and people are out there targeting people, no doubt they’ll have told one of their pals so I’m keen to just try and find out who’s done it,” he said.

Andy is offering a financial reward for information which leads to the successful identification of the criminals. Anyone with information should email [email protected]

He is also in talks with his insurers about trying to repair both cars, which could cost the family thousands.

SYP has been contacted for comment.

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