A Stevenage motorist had a brick thrown at his windscreen while he was driving down the A602 Broadhall Way in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Store manager Andy Kirk, of Bragbury End, was lucky to escape without injury after the attack at 1.05am on Thursday morning, which police are linking to two similar incidents at the same location earlier this month – one of which targeted a car driven by a mum with her two daughters.
The incident has left Andy’s Vauxhall Astra with a cracked windscreen and several scratches.
“My first instinct was I’d hit a bird or something,” the 32-year-old told the Comet.
“The sound was really awful, a massive thud.
“I was lucky it was more of a glancing blow – if it had been more direct it would probably have smashed my windscreen.”
The brick was thrown at Andy’s car while he was driving southbound past Barnwell School and the Stevenage FC Academy, on his way home from work in Milton Keynes.
“The object came from the left and struck my windscreen,” he said.
“I didn’t realise at first it was all scratched up – I didn’t really know what to think, but then quite quickly it became clear something had been thrown at my car.
“I stopped straightaway to have a look around, then drove round to see if I could see the object on the other side of the road. I found a very large chunk of brick on the other carriageway, showing it had been thrown with some force.
“As I picked up the brick I saw one young lad over the other side, looking down the road – maybe looking for his next victim.
“As soon as he saw me he ran away along with two others. They ran away from the road down Shephall Green.”
Police attended the scene and carried out a search. Investigations continue.
The two linked incidents on Sunday, July 3, also took place on Broadhall Way, close to Stevenage FC’s ground. In one of those attacks a car’s windscreen was smashed.
Andy said the incident has made him much more vigilant of what’s around him on the road.
“It’s made me be very much more aware of what’s around me, that’s for sure,” said Andy.
“Every time I go through an underpass I’m obviously very wary.
“These kids need some education that every action has a consequence, and what they are doing is not only causing people stress and financial worries as we have to get our cars repaired, but more importantly putting people in danger of serious injury or worse.
“I’d like to see awareness raised so this awful behaviour is stopped, and the offenders are caught or own up and receive the relevant punishment.”
Anyone who witnessed or has information about this incident should call police on 101, quoting crime reference E1/16/4984.
Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or use their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here