A St Albans woman returned from a short holiday to find the windows of her flat had been smashed by vandals.
The victim - who preferred to remain anonymous - discovered the damage after returning to her flat in Charrington Place on Monday, December 30, having been away for one night.
She said: "I had just been on a short break with my mother and was returning to my flat.
"On pulling back the curtains I just couldn't believe my eyes - instead of the normal view of the small flower bed and grass area, all that I could see in front of me was cracked glass broken into small segments with holes in the window, and one panel of my balcony cracked and half standing, and the other half in pieces.
"What had been a fantastic day to that point was immediately turned into a nightmare. Were the people who committed the crime still around? Had they got into the flat by some other route? Had anything been stolen?
"In tears I called my mother and father who told me to call the police to ensure that the criminals had left the vicinity. My parents then drove over from near Oxford, arriving after about an hour and a half, during which time I had checked myself that there was no one still around.
"I had just got my flat close to how I wanted it and it was an absolutely horrible experience to return to find this new problem created by others."
Nobody had entered the flat, as the inner glass panels of the double glazed windows were still intact, leaving the victim unsure whether it was an attempted burglary or mindless vandalism.
The victim's father said he was relived his daughter had been out on the night of the vandalism, as she would have been "completely terrified" by the attack.
He said: "The damage looks very much as if caused by the high velocity impact of small stones, possibly fired by a sling-shot or similar device.
"Small stones are used as surfacing on paths around the complex. Unfortunately some of these stones may have been used as projectiles."
The criminal damage, which was heard by neighbours, took place at around 9.30pm on Sunday, December 29.
Any witnesses, or anyone with information, is asked to contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/116706/19.
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