Van driver's lucky escape after children drop brick off A12

7:19pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Colchester

A MOTORIST is lucky to be alive after a brick thrown by children from a bridge onto the A12 smashed into a van.

Police launched a hunt for a group of children spotted with the brick on the Halstead Bridge near Colchester just after 3pm on Thursday.

The missile smashed through the windscreen of a blue Volkswagen panel van travelling on the southbound carriageway between the Spring Lane and Stanway junctions.

Police say the driver was lucky to walk away unscathed from the smash, which follows a series of similar incidents last year.

The motorist reported seeing the group of children on the footbridge just before the incident to police.

They set up a rolling road block on the A12 to allow officers to search the scene for evidence, but no suspects were found.

Anyone with information should contact DC Steve Clarke at Colchester Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Comments(19)

jammin says...
8:08am Fri 3 Aug 12

chop there hands off, no more throwing.

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jammin says...
8:10am Fri 3 Aug 12

their*

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Tom Joyce says...
11:42am Fri 3 Aug 12

Absolutely appalled by the actions of such low life. Clearly in need of a harsh lesson. Why they need to realise is they are committing an attempt to murder. Their parents must be so proud.

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Tom Joyce says...
11:52am Fri 3 Aug 12

What*

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romantic says...
12:10pm Fri 3 Aug 12

The parents probably have no idea what their kids are up to. Kids do lots of stupid things, patrly because they have not yet developed an awareness of danger.

If they do find out who did this, it is important they understand how much damage can be done, that it is not just a little prank, that it could seriously hurt somebody or even kill them. Doesn´t say how old these kids are, but at any age, they have to learn that actions have consequences.

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icecoolmark says...
12:20pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Isn't there a gypsy site near there?

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rhetoric says...
12:43pm Fri 3 Aug 12

It is difficult to believe, after all the recent stories about the horrendous effects of such actions, that children old enough to wander about on their own are unaware of the consequences of this sort of action.
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The only "excuse" that can possibly be given is that the violent video games they play invite such horrible acts, and fantasy blends into real life. Parents should veto these videos, at least until the offspring are of an age to understand the consequences to others and the retribution that will be wreaked upon the perpetrators.
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Unfortunately not all parents are responsible themselves, and it's not always the "usual suspects" who don't give a darn what their offspring do. Some of the nastiest children around belong to the well off and "privileged", and are brought up to expect they can do what they want because Daddy will come out fighting for them, and win. This is not "hearsay", nor is it a recent phenomenon. I have witnessed such children in action many years ago, and wondered what they would become as adults.
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To sum up, I do not agree totally with romantic because children old enough to wander onto a motorway bridge are, these days, sophisticated enough to work out the consequences of their actions in throwing lethal objects at a fast moving vehicle.
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What is to be done? I have no answer. It all feels like some sci-fi fantasy of John Wyndham.

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Im_Like_HELLO says...
1:22pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Don't blame the kids - it's a generation of parents that have mis-reared their offspring who can now walk through red lights at railway crossings and get railway companies prosecuted, likewise I wouldn't be surprised if the highways authority is prosecuted for allowing children to throw bricks off bridges because the parapets aren't high enough or some such nonsense.

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rhetoric says...
2:19pm Fri 3 Aug 12

While you may not want to blame the kids, ILH, you have to admit that they need stopping, somehow.
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Why should someone or more than one die, or be maimed, because these lethal children are at large?
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I believe that underneath children these days know full well what they are doing from an early age, and that they are doing what all would do if they had the chance and no morals; they are pushing the boundaries to see how far they can go. It is chilling to think what could happen.

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ShallowRemarks says...
2:36pm Fri 3 Aug 12

If these kids don't realise what they are doing is wrong and extremely dangerous then they must be about two years of age or have severe leaning disabilities.

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ShallowRemarks says...
2:37pm Fri 3 Aug 12

learning*

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wellnow says...
3:27pm Fri 3 Aug 12

please don't make excuses for them.for any child to be so young not realise the danger here,that child would be to young to lift the brick.

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romantic says...
3:38pm Fri 3 Aug 12

ILH, the kids will know full well it is wrong. I´m sure they disappeared pretty fast when the police turned up.

I remember a kid at school doing this, and that´s a couple of generations ago, so it´s not just a modern thing. He did stop when a windscreen got smashed, let´s hope these kids learn the lesson as well.

You have a point about the whole litigation culture, and that is a broader issue, but no way can you remove any responsibility for this from the kids.

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californianana says...
10:14pm Fri 3 Aug 12

A miracle took.place ..shallow and I agree.Of course these kids know what they're doing. We've even had kids shoot at cars from overpass (bridges ) As was also said some parents don't bother to raise thei kids to know that every action carries a consequence.

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californianana says...
1:34am Sat 4 Aug 12

Well jollyiishfrier I guess I'm from your generation I'm. 71.We didn't dare to talk back & tho I never had one thrown at me those board dusters were lethal. We knew how to act as our parents cared enough to teach us right from wrong and RESPECT.Anyone out there remember Mr.Matthews at Wilson Marriage???

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wellnow says...
10:15am Sat 4 Aug 12

you mean old moaner,

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californianana says...
10:07pm Sat 4 Aug 12

Sure do wellnow. Misbehave and you stood under the clock.ha ha. But we were taught values back then so I guess they were the good old days..Yea just saw GB win first ever men's 10.000m run.congratulations. What happened to Wilson. Marriage? I know Kendall Rd.burned.Dear old Mrs Brown .....

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wormshero says...
1:45pm Mon 6 Aug 12

I don't think generation, or punishments in school have anything to do with it. The cane was used in my dad's day, didn't stop his first car from being written off when a concrete block was dropped from a footbridge. It's definitely down to how you're raised; most decent people would never do such things because we were raised in such a way that we understand the consequences of our actions, and that's been the same throughout history; if you're raised half-decently you'd never even consider such a thing.

Your generalisation goes a bit past being naive and is almost offensive, to be honest. I was spared the cane at school (by quite a few years), and turned out alright, thank you very much.

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wormshero says...
9:37am Tue 7 Aug 12

Erm, council house, not in east London, but a London over spill area mind you. My school (his as well, i suppose as it was the same school) wasn't particularly pleasant, the usual frequent fights, teachers losing tempers, many people i knew expelled etc.

Dad's late-50s, my age is irrelevant.

But your question about how I behaved at school is sort of my point anyway; even without punishment at school some people act up and others don't. It's more down to how they're raised and how they're disciplined at home at a younger age. My point was that even at a time when you could be beaten at school for misbehaving, people still acted in this manner and stuff like this still happened. How I act is kind of irrelevant.

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