Vandals wreck Sandra Howard's car

All the tyres were slashed and windows broken on the car

Vandals have destroyed a car belonging to the wife of the Conservative leader Michael Howard.

Sandra Howard's 17-year-old white Fiat Panda 4x4 is a write off after it was extensively damaged at Westenhanger railway station on Monday.

A traffic cone had been smashed through the rear window and all the wiring around the steering wheel ripped out.

"I'd driven my Panda for 15 years and it was very close to my heart," Mrs Howard told The Daily Telegraph.

Tyres slashed

"It was sickening to see how violent these mindless vandals had been. I'm really sad at its passing," the wife of the Folkestone MP added.

The E-registered car had 70,000 miles on the clock, and had been left at a railway station car park in her husband's Kent constituency.

The now-wrecked car had 70,000 miles on the clock

The former model, 64, had been on her way to the funeral of a local Conservative Party member when she discovered the damage.

The car, left in the car park of the station, close to Folkestone racecourse, near Hythe, also had every window broken and all the tyres slashed.

The crime is being investigated by Kent Police and British Transport Police.

The Panda was introduced by Italian car maker Fiat in 1980 and was seen as a rival to the Citroen 2CV.

As well as its squarish-looking shape it also featured a folding rear seat that could be converted into a bed.

The 4x4 model, favoured by Mrs Howard, was introduced in 1982.