1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196 
Thugs target trucks with flying concrete
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
. by Pete Swingler
Hauliers in the West Midlands are being targeted by thugs throwing lumps of concrete and bricks from a footbridge across a new bypass.
Several drivers have narrowly avoided serious injuries this month after their vehicles were struck by the missiles from a pedestrian bridge across the Dudley town bypass at Cinder Bank.
Freelance driver Tony Mason of Wood Street, Rowley Regis, near Dudley, says he and his passenger were the latest to escape serious Injury when a lump of concrete smashed the windscreen and narrowly missed them at 17:45hrs last Wednesday (17 Jan). "I had gone underneath the bridge before the island at Cinder Bank when I saw something fly into the windscreen of my seven-tonne lorry," says Masan. The windscreen shattered and I quickly pulled over to find several lumps of concrete lying around.
"We were lucky not to have been seriously injured or killed—I was left shaken for quite some time. Ill had been in a normal ear I dread to think what would have happened. I want other lorry drivers to be on the alert for these hooligans because sooner or later someone is going to get killed.'' Mason says he saw three youths running from the bridge and climbing over a fence shortly after the incident. He says he reported the incident to the police and called an Dudley Council to take steps to protect drivers.
A pollee spokesman says there have been a spate of incidents in recent weeks involving youths dropping concrete and bricks from the footbridge onto vehicles.
"Lorries appear to be the main targets because they are so big and apparently easier to hit," says the spokesman. "We are now keeping a close watch on the footbridge but drivers [should] keep on their guard."
The bypass was opened nearly two years ago to take heavy traffic out of Dudley town centre.