SIR FRED GOODWIN'S HOME ATTACKED

Windows of the stone villa have been smashed

The Edinburgh home of former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin has been attacked by vandals overnight.

Windows were smashed and a Mercedes S600 car parked in the driveway was vandalised.

There has been widespread public and political anger over a pension payout worth about £700,000 a year to the 50-year-old former chief executive.

Sir Fred took early retirement from RBS last year after the bank needed a £20bn bailout from the government.

Last month, RBS reported that it made a loss of £24.1bn in 2008 - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.

When Sir Fred stepped down from the post in October, he rejected Government pressure to accept a reduction in his package, insisting that changes to the early retirement deal he had negotiated were "not warranted".

The payout was described as "obscene" and "grotesque" by MPs and "unjustifiable and unacceptable" by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

It is not known if anyone was in the house at the time of the attack or who reported the vandalism.

A spokesman for the Royal Bank of Scotland said short term security arrangements had been put in place at Sir Fred's Edinburgh home, and that these were still operational during the time of the attack.

A Mercedes S600 car parked in the driveway was damaged

The bank would not confirm what these security measures entailed.

However, earlier this month it emerged that the bank was paying about £290 per month for security, which included CCTV monitoring of the house and security staff.

A police car is now guarding the entrance to Sir Fred's home, in the Grange area of the city.

Three smashed ground-floor windows of the stone villa were clearly visible.

In the driveway, the rear window of a dark-coloured Mercedes saloon was smashed, as well as the nearside rear passenger window.

There were no obvious signs of activity inside the house.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said they were called out at 0435 GMT.

She said: "Inquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing. We are appealing for witnesses."

BBC NEWS REPORT.