Stone throwing onto A338 from bridge 'could end in tragedy'

An investigation has been launched over the incident on the A338 Spur Road after stones hit Adrian Westmore’s car, smashing its windscreen and sun roof.

Councillor Lawrence Williams said the behaviour was “absolutely disgraceful” and said it was “almost a miracle” no one was hurt.

Neighbourhood Inspector Darren Harris, of Bournemouth police, said: “It should be nothing short of obvious that throwing objects at moving vehicles is a dangerous thing to do.

“Sadly, while such antics may be seen as amusing or thrill-seeking, they can end in tragedy and cause expensive damage to vehicles and potentially injure members of the public.

“This type of anti-social behaviour is dangerous and I would urge people to please stop.”

The bridge has railing on both sides

Mr Westmore, a civil servant who lives in Poole, said he did not realise the full extent of the damage until he got home.

“As I was driving down the dual carriageway I could see two children in school uniform standing on the bridge,” he said.

“I didn’t think much of it at first but as I was approaching the bridge I could see one of them looking straight down at the road. I saw him move his arms and all these stones came down and smashed into my car. There was nothing I could do about it.”

Mr Westmore said when he got home and out of his car he started shaking as he started to fully process what had happened.

He said preventative measures need to be taken on the bridge to stop someone getting seriously hurt.

The A338 under the bridge has a 50mph speed limit

“I consider myself lucky,” said Mr Westmore.

“There could have been far worse consequences.

“It was a bit of a shock. You often see people walking over the bridge and think nothing of it. These boys were just stood there. The closer I got, I knew something was going to happen.”

Littledown and Iford ward councillor Williams said: “The bridge has been there for a long time and this is the first incident like this that I can recall.

“I think it is absolutely disgraceful. The children should be caught and punished in some way if possible. It is almost a miracle no one was hurt.

"There was a spate of this back in the 1990s and 2000s and it didn’t end very well. Fortunately it seemed to stop and hopefully this is an isolated incident.”

Officers attended the scene and searched the area but nobody was located after receiving the report from Mr Westmore at 4.10pm on Thursday, October 7. Enquiries are ongoing.