The Christmas season is a little dimmer for a number of Armidale households after their Christmas lights were vandalised.
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Leanda Cundy and her family put up Christmas lights for the first time this year.
She woke in the early hours of Sunday morning to discover many of the lights had been smashed or strewn throughout the street.
When Ms Cundy returned home from a work Christmas party at 11pm on Saturday night, the lights were intact.
Her daughter came home at about 2.30am and found the decorations in tatters.
A reindeer made out of Christmas lights was found two blocks away.
Ms Cundy said it was disheartening to see someone rip down her festive decorations and said it had cost her about $120.
She called those who did it “heartless” and “gutless” on Facebook.
But she wasn’t the only one commenting on social media, with at least four others saying they had been vandalised.
One angry mother posted: “How would you like it if I came to your house and ruined your belongings?”
Armidale Police crime manager Inspector Ann Joy said police had not received reports about malicious damage to Christmas lights between December 12 and 15 but encouraged Armidalians to report.
“We focus our patrols on areas where we know these things are happening,” she said.
Inspector Joy said malevolent damage was terrible at any time of year, but was especially soat Christmas.