A GANG of around 50 vandals wrought havoc in a street, dragging a road sign across a car and terrifying elderly residents at the weekend.

Wimborne resident Phil Gibson, 58, says he heard a ‘commotion’ and looked out to see 40 – 50 people outside his house.

Mr Gibson, of Leigh Gardens, called the police at around 9.30pm on Saturday but says he was warned not to go outside and confront the yobs.

In the morning he found gouges and dents – some up to a foot long - in the bonnet of his Volkswagen Golf from the concrete base of the wooden sign.

“They have pulled the sign out of the ground about an eighth of a mile away,” said Mr Gibson, who thought he’d heard people jumping on a car. You can see the marks on the road. The old people around here were absolutely terrified.”

He added: “You hear so many stories about people being attacked that you daren’t approach people these days.”

He estimates the damage will tot up to £400 – £600.

Neighbours have told of broken wing mirrors and bottles being thrown, he says.

“We get so many disturbances around here that we’re fed up,” Mr Gibson added.

“We’re used to raised voices and bad language but it was a lot louder than usual.”

Dorset Police said they received reports from Leigh Gardens of a number of youths outside in the street causing a disturbance and shouting.

Officers attended and moved a group on.

They then received a further call from a resident saying that a vehicle had been damaged by a road sign.

Call the non-emergency hotline number 101 with information.