SALTASH mum, Sue Jones and her 14-year-old daughter Harriet, were lucky to escape serious injury when a young vandal dropped a rock on their car as they travelled towards Plymouth city centre on the A38.
They were passing underneath a footbridge near Honicknowle when the rock was dropped, cracking the windscreen.
A police spokesman said the incident could have had fatal consequences, and issued warnings to thugs carrying out such mindless attacks. They said that if the window had been smashed rather than cracked both Sue, 51, and Harriet could have been killed.
Sue, who was driving about 65mph at the time, said as she approached the bridge she glanced up and saw someone up there, hunched over the side of it.
Then, all of a sudden 'there was an almighty wallop coming from above and the windscreen cracked right across.'
She added that it frightened and shook both herself and her daughter, and has made her slightly more nervous going under footbridges. She stressed that if it had happened to an elderly lady or someone highly-strung it could have made a huge difference to them.
Police have appealed for any witnesses to the incident, which occurred around 1.20pm last Monday. Pc Stuart Elford highlighted the seriousness of the incident, and said it could have had tragic consequences when taking into account the speed cars travel on the main road. He said it was fortunate that Sue managed to retain control of her car.
Anyone with information should ring the police on 08705 777 444. It is thought the youth involved was aged around 13