RESIDENTS have been left shocked after men threw bricks at a car and threatened the driver with knives in a “vicious” midday attack in Dovercourt.

Officers received calls that two or three men had lobbed bricks at a silver Ford Focus after an altercation with the male driver in the High Street, last Thursday at 11.45am.

The suspects then threatened the occupants in the car with knives before running off from the scene.

Gillian Watkins, of Great Oakley, said she was with her husband when the attack happened.

She said: “I was in a car several cars behind the one that was attacked.

“I didn’t see anything, but heard a lot of commotion.”

She said she saw one man “running like hell up the street” past her and as she turned the car to get away from the traffic jam, she saw two other men running up a side lane.

“There seemed to be quite a lot of witnesses, and I have to admit it makes you a little more wary when you’re in the town,”she added.

Dave McLeod, Harwich Town councillor, said the biggest shock was that the crime happened in the middle of the day in front of many witnesses.

He said: “It’s a vicious crime to throw rocks at a car, to break glass and hurt people.

“What is the matter with these people?

“There are other options than to turn to violence."

He added: “If we don’t have a stronger police presence in view, this will continue.

“We’ve had fires and vandalism, and if there was more presence, people might think twice before committing crimes.”

Tendring’s district commander Russ Cole said Harwich, Tendring and Essex as a whole is a safe place.

He said: “This incident had nothing to do with police presence – indeed, officers were on the scene within seconds after it was reported to us because they were already in the area.

“This was a targeted attack that posed no risk to the general public and the investigation into the incident is making good progress.

“We do not tolerate crime of any kind, particularly violent crime, and we are doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice”

Anyone with information or dashcam footage is asked to contact Det Sgt Phil Terry on 101.