VANDALS have damaged scores of beach huts in a mindless crime spree.

Since last Saturday, yobs have smashed into 66 huts and chalets in Kingsway, Hove.

Thirty four properties were broken into overnight on Friday alone.

It is not known whether property has been stolen as some owners are not yet even aware their huts have been attacked.

The huts are privately owned, and can fetch up to £25,000.

City Councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn is among those whose huts were targeted.

He said: “I’ve had the beach hut for about 15 years and honestly, this was just mindless vandalism.

“My hut had its lock broken and they also damaged a plastic container inside.

“To me, it is clearly deliberate because you would need to use an angle grinder to wrench the locks apart.

“It’s very upsetting for me, and the other owners because the huts are a little haven and they’ve been violated.

“This is the second time it has happened.

“I hope all the owners have been notified.

“It’s not just the cost of repairing the damages but it’s the inconvenience as well.

“It’s very unsettling.”

This weekend seven chalets and 26 huts were broken into and last Saturday 33 huts were smashed up.

Cllr Peltzer Dunn’s fellow Conservative Wish ward representative, Councillor Robert Nemeth, saw the huts after taking part in Parkrun on the seafront.

He took to Twitter on Saturday to alert hut owners and to say Sussex Police “need to toughen up in our area”.

Cllr Nemeth said: “I was walking past after taking part in the Parkrun event nearby.

“The huts and chalets have been damaged in a number of ways, including that of Councillor Garry Peltzer-Dunn, my fellow Wish councillor.

“The locks have been chopped off, whereas the doors of others have been completely kicked in.

“I heard there were more damaged last night.

“Thirty four others were damaged last week.

“The police really need to toughen up in our area.

“If groups are out in the middle of the night, they should at least be spoken to.”

When The Argus visited the scene yesterday, some huts and chalets had been boarded up, while others were gaping open with doors hanging at an angle.

Sussex Police are now working with Brighton and Hove City Council’s seafront team to try to establish what happened.

A force spokesman said: “On Saturday morning we received a report that seven chalets and 26 beach huts on the seafront at Kingsway, Hove, had been entered and damaged overnight.

“There was no report of anything being stolen.

“On March 31 we had received a report that 33 beach huts at the same location had been similarly entered and damaged and it is believed several of these were involved in the latest incident.

“Enquiries are being made, working with the council’s seafront team, and anyone with information is asked to contact the police online or by calling 101, quoting serial 246 of 07/04, or serial 895 of 31/03.”