SHOCKING video footage has emerged showing the moment a vandal destroyed a flowerpot before launching a slab of pottery at a home.

Darren Eland, of Cyril Child Close, Colchester, was left both bemused and incensed after returning home from work to find his flower pot shattered across his garden.

He initially asked his wife and stepson if they had seen or heard anything, but neither could shed any light on how the pot had come to be damaged.

Mr Eland then decided to review his Ring doorbell’s video footage, which quickly revealed the culprit responsible.

In CCTV sent to the Gazette, a man can be seen entering Mr Eland’s garden before picking up a heavy flowerpot from near his front door.

The bumbling crook then drops the container on the floor, causing it to smash and resulting in a pile of soil dumping on the pathway.

He then picks up a big chunk of the pottery before propelling it towards the front of the neighbouring home and then fleeing the scene.

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Mr Eland said: “We have been here now for 17 years and we keep ourselves to ourselves but there has been a lot of trouble.

“There was a hammer attack on the green in front [of our home] and a stabbing – that is one of the reasons we got the Ring doorbell.

“One of the neighbour’s kids was stabbed in the neck a few years ago but survived.

“Now we have had the flower pot. In my opinion they are probably druggies or dealers but they have terrorised an elderly woman.

"My stepson used to work on the doors as a bouncer so we don’t get trouble."

Gazette:

Tim Young, mayor of Colchester and councillor for Greenstead, has been left somewhat baffled by the incident but condemned it nonetheless.

He said: “It sounds like a bizarre and extraordinary event but it is anti-social behaviour at the end of the day and should not be tolerated.

“If the person has a grievance with someone there are official ways they can act on that – they should not be taking matters into their own hands.

“Incidents like this, although rare, can be frightening for house owners and people in the area but clearly something has triggered this.”

Mr Eland says he reported the incident to Essex Police, who the Gazette have contacted for comment.