FRIDAY the 13th proved unlucky for dozens of householders when vandals attacked their cars in the early hours, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Four teenagers - three aged 16 and one aged 17 - were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after 20 cars were targeted in the Denes area of Darlington.

Wing mirrors were kicked and aerials damaged in Tower Road, Orchard Road and Craig Street.

One victim and his partner were woken by a loud bang as their Mini was damaged.

The 33-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: "My partner has quite good hearing and we first noticed there was something wrong when we heard people moving around.

"It was just before 3am when we heard the bang. I looked out of the window and saw three lads disappearing out of sight.

"I got my clothes on, chased after and confronted them. They gave me the usual 'it wasn't us, mate' comments."

The youths fled but were arrested in nearby Woodland Road and spent the night in custody.

The resident, who estimates the damage to his car as between £200 and £300, added: "As I headed back to the house after they scarpered, the scale of the damage became more clear.

"Other residents had come out of their houses to see what was going on, there were quite a few different cars affected."

The early-hours drama added insult to injury for the victim, who had been involved in a minor road accident earlier on Thursday (June 13).

Inspector Chris Knox, of Darlington police, said: "We had a report of people damaging cars in the early hours of Friday.

"Police attended and one male was arrested quite quickly, with a further three males arrested nearby.

"There was in the region of 20 vehicles targeted, with damage caused to about 10.

"CID are working on the investigation and PCSOs are out on foot to see if they can identify more affected vehicles."

Police are also investigating damage to a car parked outside the White Heifer pub, in West Park, Darlington, between 11.30am and 10pm on Tuesday (June 10).

Obscenities were written on the rear driver's side door and a heart was scratched in above the petrol cap.

Witnesses to either incident are asked to call police on 101.