Caught out... by AI: Moment vandal is captured keying cars on quiet street by motorist's Tesla security cameras

A vandal who keyed cars parked on a residential street has been caught by Tesla's onboard cameras. 

The man was seen blatantly walking down the road in Westbourne, Bournemouth, going from one car to another and scratching the paint with his keys.

The footage shows him scraping the side of a Renault car before walking onto a private driveway to do the same to a black Mercedes 4x4.

The man then approaches the Tesla but does not notice the electric car's onboard security cameras which were on while parked in sentry mode.

Footage clearly shows the offender dressed in a black t-shirt and blue Bermuda shorts with pink flamingos on them. 

As he walks past the grey coloured Tesla he uses the edge of his key to make a 2ft long scratch on the driver's side door.

After the Tesla owner uploaded the shocking footage to social media, other car owners came forward to report their vehicles being damaged.

So far there have been reports of up to 10 cars being damaged in several streets in the Westbourne area on the afternoon of July 17, causing thousands of pounds of damage.

The victims said they are baffled as to what drove the man to carry out the act.

The Tesla owner, who did not want to be named, said: 'I don't usually have the sentry mode on because it runs the battery down but on this occasion I did.

'When I got back to the car at 7.15pm I noticed it had been badly scratched down the full width of the driver's door. I got a sentry alert and saw the footage from 2.21pm.

'You could clearly see the same guy had keyed two other cars before doing mine. I spoke to other people on the road and they hadn't realised their cars had been damaged.

'I have no idea why he has done it, it is quite random.

'Had he stolen the car and taken it for a joyride, there would have been some logic to it but it just seems completely senseless.

'It is probably going to cost £800 to repair so nobody has gained anything from it.'

Vicki Townsend's Ford Focus was also targeted. The 40-year-old said: 'When I went out at about 3.30pm I noticed an eight inch scratch along the driver's side door.

'Then I saw all the other reports on social media and realised I was part of it.

'He has done so much damage to so many cars for no rhyme nor reason.

'Some of the cars were parked on the road and some were on driveways.' 

She added: 'I don't know who this guy is but I would like to have a word with him.'

Local resident Ursula Piovanelli said: 'I saw four cars keyed in our road while walking my dog, it seems he is choosing the more expensive cars, as skips the smaller less expensive ones. Hope he gets caught.'

Dorset police have been approached for comment.