Watch the shocking moment a shopkeeper slashes the tires of a van with speed cameras while a police officer was inside

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

CCTV showed the man wearing a high-visibility vest walking casually towards the van parked in west North Plympton Adelaide about 4pm on Wednesday.

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

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

The police officer in the van was checking the speed camera at the time and apparently did not notice the sabotage.

Twenty minutes later, more police were seen arriving at the scene to check the damage to the undriveable 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, it 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 radars from time to time, but at the end of the day they are there to look after us and ourselves.”

Residents added that the police had a reason to be there.

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

“They do speed here because they think there are 60,” said another man.

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

“You can hear people flying around here at night,” he said.

The tradie was later seen quickly walking away from the scene while looking over his shoulder to see if anyone saw what he did.

South Australian police are investigating the vandalism committed against his vehicle.

Investigators are urging anyone who saw the act or knows the man to come forward.