Saturday Kitchen star James Martin took to Instagram with shock after he discovered his car window had been smashed in broad daylight. The celebrity chef shared a photo of a gaping hole in the vehicle’s rear windscreen after it was targeted by vandals and fumed: “London is broken.”

While he didn’t divulge if anything was stolen, the 52-year-old wrote: “So in a week two of my friends cars got stolen, one other mate got mugged and now I had this happen all in broad daylight all in central London. London is broken big time…next time I’m bringing the Mali’s,” James added, referring to his dog. The ITV star was flooded with support as fans took to the comments, sharing their own experiences and criticising politicians.

One commented: “Omg what this this world coming to shocking hope he’s OK sadly not great Britain anymore.” Another claimed: “London got worse when the Tories removed thousands of police stations, took 20,000 old bill off the street and removed a billion pounds of funding to Khan.”

A third penned: “Sadly, my dear sir, it’s common nowadays and getting worse,” as one fan agreed: “You’re totally right, London is broken.” A fourth echoed: “Not just London the whole country is going down rapidly. So sad.”

“Since Khan got his hands on being the mayor London started getting worse, the whole of the country has changed,” stated one.

James isn’t the only TV star to fall victim to car vandals, as LBC host Nick Ferrari also took to social media with a desperate plea after his 4×4 Wrangler – worth £60,000 – was stolen.

The radio presenter said: “STOLEN JEEP – PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR THIS JEEP. My Jeep has been stolen from Lewisham 12/13th May. Registration RX21 KRG. Please share and contact crime@lbc.co.uk, @ClarePatterson2 or the police if found. Thank you. NF.”

After fronting Saturday Morning since 2017, he has become one of TV’s most familiar faces, presenting James Martin’s Great British Adventure, Islands to Highlands and James Martin’s French Adventure. He has also published over 20 best-selling cookbooks and amassed over 750,000 followers on Instagram.

However, as well as a number of career highs, the chef has also faced a number of personal difficulties, including a bout with facial cancer in 2018, which was operated on but “returned on several occasions”. James kept his diagnosis a secret from the public for some years.

Although he admitted the cancer diagnosis left him planning his own funeral, more than six years on, James says he is feeling much better.