A masked vandal wielding a hammer destroyed a £250,000 Aston Martin Vanquish at Hampton Court Palace Golf Club in south-west London on Bank Holiday Monday, scrawling the word 'cheater' across the vehicle. Witnesses told the Daily Mail the suspect was taking revenge on his ex-boyfriend, who had parked the luxury car while walking a dog. police have not made any arrests and describe the incident as criminal damage, according to a Metropolitan Police spokesperson.

The £250,000 Aston Martin Vanquish and the single word that explained the attack

The suspect, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts and wearing a mask, pulled a hammer from his rucksack and smashed the windowws and lights of the convertible Aston Martin. He also wrote 'cheater' in capital letters on the car's body. The incident happened at around 2pm in front of shocked onlookers at the golf club's car park, as the Daily Mail reported. One witness who works in the park told the newspaper: 'A guy smashed up his ex-boyfriend's car. It was an Aston Martin and he wrote "cheater" in capital letters on it .'

Why the Hampton Court Palace Golf Club car park is a no-CCTV zone

The car park where the vandalism occurred has no security cameras, according to witnesses who spoke to the Daily Mail. 'You park at your own risk,' one said, calling the lack of surveillance 'a concern as there are a lot of expensive cars here.' Despite the area being described as 'generally safe' by golfers and dog walkers, the absence of CCTV meant that the entire incident was captured only on mobile phone footage by dog walkers.. That footage also shows the suspect casually strolling away from the scene towards a nearby river .

What the witnesses saw: a jilted lover's escape towards the river

Multiple witnesses described the vandalism as 'targeted' and said the suspect must have followed the victim to the golf club. 'The man must have followed them here,' one witness told the Daily Mail. Another joked: 'From the sounds of it, it was a jilted lover — I don't think it was cheating at golf!' The suspect was filmed walking away calmly in shorts before disappearing near the river. No arrest has been made, and police said they searched the area but were 'unable to locate the suspect.'

Three days on, police still searching for the masked suspect

As of Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police had made no arrests. A spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'Police were called at around 2pm on Monday, May 25 to reports of criminal damage to a vehicle at a sports club in Dillon Close, Molesey. No arrests have been made, and enquiries continue.' The Aston Martin Vanquish, understood to be worth around £250,000 first-hand, has been towed from the scene. The force has appealed for anyone with information to contact them on 101 or via Crimestoppers.

The broader pattern at play involves a mismatch between high-value assets and low-security parking. Hampton Court Palace Golf Club sits within a park that lacks surveillance, relying on a trust-based system that now appears vulnerable. While this incident is personal in nature, it raises questions about how owners of expensive vehicles can protect themselves in such open environments. What remains unknown is the identity of the suspect, how he tracked the victim's location, and why the relationship turned to such a public form of revenge.