AN Exmoor community has been shocked by vandalism of a parked car whose pensioner owner has been in hospital for several weeks.

Seventy-seven-year-old Rosemary Welford fell and broke her pelvis and has been recovering in a Taunton hospital and rehabilitation centre.

Mrs Welford’s Suzuki car was left in a car park near her home in Town Mills, Dulverton.

Now, paint stripper or a similar liquid has been poured over the rear of the vehicle, causing paintwork to peel off in several places.

A close friend of Mrs Welford, who previously lived in Exford for three decades, told the Free Press: “It is disgraceful how anybody could do something like this.

“Nobody we know has a word to say against her, and she does not bear grudges against anybody.

“She is recovering slowly and is in a lot of pain and has just started to move about on a frame.”

A police spokesperson said a third party report had been received of a car parked in Dulverton being damaged with what was believed to be paint stripper some time between Friday, April 19, and Friday, May 17.

The spokesperson appealed for anybody who may have witnessed the damage being caused, or who had information about it, to call 101 and give the call handler the reference 5224129514.