Watch the astonishing moment a tradie slashes the tyres of a speed camera van while a police officer was inside

A manhunt is underway for a brazen tradie who was caught slashing the tires of a mobile speed camera while a police officer was inside.

CCTV footage showed the man in a hi-vis vest casually walking towards the van parked in North Plympton Adelaide’s west about 4pm on Wednesday.

He quickly pulled out a knife and cut the front and rear tires on the left side of the van.

He was later seen walking quickly away from the scene along Birdwood Terrace, carefully looking over his shoulder several times to see if anyone caught him in the act.

The police officer in the van was operating the speed camera at the time and was apparently initially unaware of the sabotage.

Twenty minutes later, additional police were seen arriving on the scene to assess the damage to the out-of-control van before it was taken away on the back of a tow truck.

Residents were shocked to hear about the incident.

“This is really bad, this is not acceptable, whether it is a police van or a personal van,” said Sarat Katoch. Nine news.

Kyle Larsen-Smith added, “I think everyone gets frustrated with strobes every now and then, but at the end of the day they’re there to take care of us and take care of ourselves.”

Residents added that police had a reason to be there.

The stretch of road is notorious for ignoring the 50 km/h speed limit.

“They do speed here because they think it’s 60,” said another man.

Mr Larsen-Smith said the road was used as a shortcut between two other major roads.

“You definitely hear people flying by here at night,” he said.

South Australia Police are investigating the vandalism of their vehicle.

Detectives are calling on anyone who saw the act or knows the man to come forward.