UP to 15 cars were targeted in one night as thieves left a trail of destruction in a Pitsea housing estate, it is believed.

Multiple vehicles were broken into overnight on Thursday in Beambridge, Moretons and surrounding roads as thieves helped themselves to people’s goods left inside.

Chris Stocken, 29, of Beambridge, left to go to work at about 6.30am on Friday when he discovered the passenger side door to his Vauxhall Zafira had been smashed.

Shards of glass were shattered across the car seats and floor and thieves had rifled through his belongings.

The dad-of-four said: “I was walking to my car and I realised that all the windows had been smeared. It was misty so they had obviously wiped the windows to have a look inside.

“I noticed they had been through the glove box and stole a few CDs, some keys that had fallen out of my pocket the night before and my Ray-Ban sunglasses worth £100.

“I think the reason why they did it was because I had about £1.70 in change on show - they probably wanted that.

“I won’t be doing that again.”

After the discovery, Mr Stocken phoned police, who took shards of glass away for analysis.

He said: “The police officer said that they had been wearing gloves and she was trying to find samples of the clothes they had worn.

“She said she had dealt with 15 cars that all been broken into that same night too.

“I had a walk around looking for the keys and I saw that about five or six cars had their windows smashed in Moretons, the road next to mine.”

Following the theft, Mr Stocken has spent £150 to replace the window.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police were contacted shortly after 6.30am on Friday with reports of a Vauxhall Zafira broken into in Beambridge in Pitsea.

“Thieves had smashed the front passenger window to gain entry.”