A young family plagued by vandalism are being forced to abandon their new home amid fears for their safety.

Robert Leggett, 23, and girlfriend Emma Franklin, 22, have reported attacks on their car to the police seven times since moving in last year.

They have now put their Pitsea home on the market and say they fear for their own lives and the safety of their seven-month-old daughter, Casey.

The family's car has been stripped bare of its contents seven times since the family moved into the property in Maydells in August.

The catalogue of vandalism started when they had been there just three months. Each month since then their property has been damaged by mindless vandals and thieves.

Mr Leggett, who works shifts as a nurse, has now vowed to move his family away from Pitsea as soon as he can.

He is considering a move back to Canvey where he has spent all of his life. He said: "It is getting beyond a joke now. My girlfriend is petrified of being in the house and just does not want to be here anymore.

"There is no way we are going to bring our daughter up in Pitsea - the house is up for sale and we are getting out.

"Our friends visited one evening and their car was broken into less than an hour after they arrived."

The family are so fed up they believe a move back to Canvey may be their only hope of a crime-free life. Mr Leggett added: "I realise every area has its own share of crime.

"At least in Canvey I know the good and the bad areas - I lived there for 22 years and never experienced anything like this. We moved here because the house was in our price range. My mother-in-law lives around the corner and it is lovely there.

"I am amazed how different a place can be just two minutes away.

"If we had known a year ago what we know now, we never would have moved to Pitsea."

Police in Pitsea have been working with Basildon Council, business owners and the nearby Chalvedon School to rid Pitsea town centre of its vandalism problems.

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