"How on earth will I get my poor little Tristram and Jocasta to school now someone has shot the windows out of one's Range Rover?"

This is the top Facebook comment on the Evening Standard’s story about a spate of vandalism incidents in Balham.

Unknown perpetrators are taking aim at cars and homes in the area with what "balls bearings" suspected to have been shot from an airgun. Wandsworth police is currently investigating more than 60 incidents.

A Met Police Spokesperson said: "Officers believe the ball bearings were fired from some form of weapon, causing damage to homes or parked cars. There has been no report of injury.

"This is not being treated as a hate crime.

"There is no pattern to the property attacked, which includes both residential and business addresses."

The Standard’s article includes victims’ responses to being targeted but the response is far from sympathetic.

One person said if they were rich they could afford the repairs while another asked: "Third World problems?"

Others heavily criticised a comment from one of the victims. Project manager Victoria Jacob’s £35,000 Range Rover Vogue was one of the cars hit.

She told the Standard: "It’s absolutely shocking. My husband saw it and said, 'It looks like someone has shot the window with an air rifle'.

"I said, 'Don’t be stupid, this is Balham'. But he was right, I can’t believe it. I’m frightened it will escalate. Will it be animals next?"

Some mocked this, with Joanna Vudali commenting: "'This is Balham'. Haha you have to laugh at the naivety of it all. Mind you some of the rich live in that bubble I guess."

Balham was not always as wealthy; the high street used to be full of charity shops which have over the years been replaced by 'trendy' delis, bars and boutiques.

The average house price of a semi-detached house in Balham is £1,774,419, while the average flat is worth half a million.

Many of the residents are from the affluent middle class and the people who have spoken out in the article after being targeted seem to be just that. One victim’s car was worth £120,000.

The question the response to the article seems to raise is whether rich people are less deserving of sympathy when their valuables are damaged.

April Fletcher questioned: "Why would anyone target someone because of their wealth?"

Jealousy was one response but Nadia Lewis countered: "Because they are frustrated by an unjust system that is making the rich richer and the poor rely on food banks."

April said that was "ridiculous" and that "we all have the opportunity to further ourselves in lives. If people choose not to take that opportunity that’s their fault no one else’s".

London is the richest part of the county but also has the highest levels of poverty.

Foodbanks in Wandsworth have experienced a huge rise in people using their services. This may not justify the reaction to this spate of vandalism, but may explain it.

Mark Paul McGuire said: "Upper classes move in thinking that they own the place ignoring the fact that there were locals there before them. You can't bring that get of my land attitude to south London and start aggravating people."

Some people defended the victims.

Christopher Smith said: "Pathetic comments on here, why do innocent people deserve to get their property and belongings ruined by sub human scum?"

Facebook, it can be argued, is not the ideal place to get a feel for the majority of public opinion.

What do you think? Email: grainne.cuffe@london.newsquest.co.uk