On the same night just a couple of weeks ago, both Sam Siemsen and Dawn Moore had their cars taken from their neighbouring Mumford Street homes.

The cars were found the next day burnt out at Ashmont Oval.

Ms Siemsen’s car was bought for her as a gift by her boyfriend, Adrian McPherson, last July and the couple are still paying off a loan taken out to get the car that they can’t exit from.

“I’ve still got to pay it back,” she said.

“There’s nothing they can do about it.”

Hardest of all for Ms Siemsen though is helping her six-year-old son come to terms with what has happened.

“It’s hard to tell him it’s not coming back,” Ms Siemsen said.

The couple have another baby on the way and with no steady income aren’t able to replace the car, which was uninsured.

“I’m trying to do everything I can to get money together for another car,” Mr McPherson said.

The situation seems hopeless for Mr McPherson, who can’t fathom the motive anyone would have for such a wanton act of vandalism.

“I don’t think they have any care for what they’re doing to other people’s lives,” he said.

“They’re just in it for a bit of fun.”

The night after their house was broken into for the thieves to grab the car keys, the couple said they were unable to sleep following the traumatic experience.

Along with the keys to Ms Siemsen’s car, the thieves also made off with two mobile phones.

Feelings of anger shared by Mr McPherson and Ms Siemsen are shared by their neighbours who were forced to endure the same thing happen to them on the same night.

Ms Moore’s daughter, Alisha Watkins, said the theft had been a kick in the guts to her parents.

“My parents are reaching a fairly old age – they should be getting to a stage where they’re enjoying their lives,” she said.

Ms Watkins wants to know what the parents of the children believed to be responsible for a spate of similar incidents in Ashmont are doing to keep them in line.

Since the start of the year, police have been dealing with a constant stream of reports of cars being stolen and torched in the suburb.

Both households are in the dark over the police investigation into finding the people responsible.

“They’ve got leads, but they haven’t told us any further information about what’s happened with the car,” Mr McPherson said.