Youngsters narrowly missed killing innocent passers-by when they threw two bowling balls off the roof of high-rise flats.

The weighty balls plummeted ten floors - around 100ft - before smashing into the pavement leaving one slab broken into pieces.

The alarming incident happened at Bewley Court in Whittingham Avenue, Southend.

Residents bombarded the police with emergency calls after hearing the deafening thud as one of the balls hit the pavement and shattered into pieces.

The other ball was recovered by police, who believe youngsters are responsible.

A Southend police spokesman said: "If they had hit somebody, it would have killed them outright. It was pure luck that nobody was walking underneath.

"This is proved by what it did to the pavement. It smashed up the paving stone. Somebody walking under there would have had no chance. We got quite a few calls on it because of the noise which was horrendous.

"I would suggest the person responsible might not have been aware of the seriousness of their actions. Anyone with information about the crime or the owners of the bowling balls should get in touch. "

One of the balls was a royal blue Pinnacle Ebonite, serial number 22F0596, while the second one was a red-coloured Piranha Columbia 300, serial number 4B38964.

Anyone with information about the incident at around 7pm on Sunday should contact Southend police on 01702 431212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Deadly missiles - Southend police spokesman Doug Barton with the two bowling balls that were hurled off Bewley Court

Picture: STEPHEN LLOYD

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