A RETIRED RAF veteran has told of his shock after vandals sprayed vile graffiti on his car and home.

John Hooper left his Taw Hill house to take the dog for a walk and saw obscene language on his car bonnet and a slur calling him a paedophile scrawled on his fence.

To make matters worse, the 81-year-old was unable to remove the graffiti straight away as he had to take a friend to hospital that morning.

MORE ON THIS STORY: Police unable to help vile graffiti victim

He said: “I drove to the hospital with that horrible word on my car, people stared and gestured when I stopped to let a lady cross the street, it was so embarrassing.

“This was a personal attack on my integrity, it was obnoxious and nasty. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I can’t understand what provoked it.

“My neighbour asked if I’d seen what had happened to my car and I thought he meant my windows had been smashed or something, I never expected this.

“The neighbours were just as appalled and have been very supportive. I haven’t upset anyone, I have no grudges or enemies, no criminal record, so I would love to know why this was done.

“I felt a lot better when we cleaned it all off, it’s a relief to see it gone. What a terrible way to start the year - things can only get better.”

John moved to Royal Wootton Bassett from Portsmouth when he joined the RAF more than 40 years ago, working as a flight engineer for 21 years before leaving the forces to work in a similar role with British Airways.

He remembers both jobs fondly and recalled ending up on the Sultan of Oman’s private jet as being a highlight of his time at BA.

He trained pilots at Oxford Aviation and moved to Swindon two years ago when his wife’s dementia worsened and she had to go into a care home. He helps to look after her, though she no longer recognises him.

John’s grandson John, 26, said: “The whole family was shocked by this graffiti. We don’t know who would have done it because he has no conflicts with anyone and he always done whatever he can to help other people.

“These cowards are ruining a kind well-respected old man’s life and they should be ashamed of themselves.

“He runs a mother-and-toddler group in Royal Wootton Bassett but he does the food shopping and works in the kitchen, he very rarely any contact with the children and no-one’s ever made any accusations against him.

“We’re worried it could happen again because it seems like a targeted attack - they knew where he lived and which car was his.”