A veteran paratrooper used to fighting in the world's most dangerous conflicts says he has landed in a new warzone - Hove.

Nick Zaver, 48, served in the Falklands, the Gulf, Northern Ireland and Germany before becoming a bodyguard.

However, he ranks sedate Hove alongside the worst of them after having four cars vandalised in as many weeks.

Mr Zaver, director of Consortium Security, said police were initially slow to respond and only after the fourth strike offered to put up surveillance cameras in an attempt to catch the culprits.

He said: "It's just a joke, I haven't got any cars left."

The latest attack happened at about 2.30am on Saturday, 20 minutes after Mr Zaver returned home to Poynings Drive from work.

Looking out of his window, he saw flames shooting through a smashed window of his BMW.

He said: "The guy who stays in my house raced down to try to put it out and found a petrol can in the back seat.

"I rang 999 and the fire brigade came to put the flames out. But the police didn't turn up until nine hours later. They still haven't done the forensic tests.

"The fire officer told me to leave the car as it was so the police could check for evidence but I couldn't leave it there with a broken window and a tin of petrol in the back.

"All it would take is someone to walk past with a lit cigarette and the whole thing would go up again."

Mr Zaver said the latest attack was the worst in a catalogue of incidents.

Four days earlier, he was in Cyprus acting as bodyguard for a pop star when he received a call from home.

He said: "I got a call saying someone had put a petrol can in my car and lit it. The police came and took photos but I didn't hear anything else."

In the two previous weeks, a vehicle had been smashed up with a baseball bat and its replacement had its windows put through with a brick.

Two people have been charged in connection with the brick attack.

Mr Zaver said: "I have given loads of information to the police but they haven't done anything. Now there have been four separate incidents I have been told I'm being treated as a priority."

Detective Inspector Graham Pratt said: "We are concerned Mr Zaver has been targeted in this way and, in light of the latest incident, I will be reviewing the full set of circumstances to ensure he has confidence that we are taking this issue seriously."