‘Monkeys did £700 damage to my car,' claims army officer

An army officer has warned motorists to be on their guard when they visit a safari park after a group of monkeys attacked her car, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Major Debbie Noble, 49, was left stunned after monkeys tore off six of her car’s eight parking sensors and damaged the remaining two with their teeth at Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in Wiltshire.

Mrs Noble was left with a £700 bill to repair her three-year-old silver Ford Mondeo, which she had bought just two weeks before.

She had forked out £94 to take her son Jake, nine, and three friends to Longleat for the day.

Mrs Noble, from Bristol, said: “I saw the warning signs at the entrance to the enclosure about the need to remove aerials and anything dangling or appealing to monkeys because they are partial to playing.

“So I did exactly that. I removed the aerial and checked the car over.

“But at the end of the safari I parked up and, in the process of getting a picnic out of the boot, I noticed they had removed four of the parking sensors at the front and two at the back. I was so shocked. These sensors don’t just pop out. They are fiddly to remove.”

Steve Mytton, spokesman for Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, said: “We are very sorry to hear of the damage done to Mrs Noble’s vehicle and do sympathise with the costs she has incurred.

“The monkey drive-through is very well known for the risk of damage.”