Just days before Christmas 20 years ago, vandals went on a late-night glass-smashing rampage through Liphook, leaving behind a trail of broken windows, frustration, and anger.

What should have been a season of joy in 2005 was instead marred by a spree of destruction.

The attacks came only hours after villagers had gathered in The Square for the traditional carol singing, an event that usually marks the start of Christmas in Liphook.

By morning, the scene of music and goodwill had been replaced with shards of glass.

The vandals began at the Bramshott and Liphook parish offices before targeting the Peak Day Centre’s laundry section in the Midhurst Road car park.

From there, they moved into the heart of the village, smashing the windows of a car parked in The Square and the nearby bus shelter on London Road.

Their destructive path continued with damage at an office building on the Chitley Manor estate and the cash machine outside HSBC. The rampage ended in a private car park off Halsmere Road, where both the front and back windows of a car were shattered.

The local bobby said there were “no particular suspects at the moment,” describing the incident as unprecedented for Liphook. For many, the shock lay not only in the damage but in the timing—so close to Christmas.

One long-time resident expressed what many were feeling: “It’s disappointing when our members keep reporting things, but don’t get any response.” He blamed both the lack of police patrols and slow follow-up to complaints.

The incident prompted urgent meetings between police, councillors, and residents. Out of those talks, a new anti-social behaviour forum was formed, scheduled to meet twice a year, giving villagers a regular voice.

For a community proud of its traditions, the vandalism felt like a theft of Christmas spirit itself.