Hampshire Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward regarding a brick attack on a lorry on the M271 earlier this month. Unfortunately, the sickening attack is one a few such incidents to have occured in recent weeks.
Information regarding the aforementioned incident was tweeted by the RHA this morning. It is said that bricks were dropped onto a lorry from a bridge over the M271 in Southampton on February 1st. Three men are believed to have participated in the attack.
Thugs drop bricks on two @Meachersglobal trucks from bridge over the M271 in #Southampton on Mon 1 Feb at 5.30pm. @HantsPolice appeal for witnesses. Believed three males. Dashcam footage? Dial 101 or contact @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111. pic.twitter.com/HPwJkKQ2Xm
— RHA News (@RHANews) February 15, 2021
According to the BBC, three witnesses have already come forward with information. The witnesses said that two of the three men were in dark clothing, with one man wearing a reflective jacket.
The bridge had actually been closed to prevent incidents such as this from happening. However, the three individuals managed to find a way onto the bridge regardless.
Following the news of the incident, Lee Whitbread, Southampton city councillor for Redbridge, stressed that someone could easily have been killed during the “mindless” attack:
A gating order was issued by the council to close the bridge and install fencing to prevent access. It appears the fencing has been breached and youths have been able to access the bridge. This mindless behaviour could have killed somebody and those responsible need to be brought to book.
Worryingly, there have been a few other reports of similar attacks in recent times.
Last week, a shaken lorry driver pulled into Bardon Truck Park on Junction 22 of the M1 having allegedly been subject to a brick attack while driving on the A447.
Writing on Facebook, Bardon Truck Park described the reckless attack as “daily occurrence across the UK at the moment”. They also explained that a similar incident had already been reported to them on the same day involving a truck driving by junction 11 of the M1.
According to one eye-witness report posted on Facebook, the incident on the M1 was caused by men “dropping bags of sand.”
The dangers of sickening attacks such as these are obvious.
Just last month, a trucker in Belfast was left fighting for his sight after a wheelie bin was thrown at his vehicle from an overpass on the A8.
The driver has since returned to the scene of the attack and talked of the physical and mental toll the incident has had on himself. It is thought that he could lose almost all of the sight in his right eye as a result of the incident.
Photo credit: bardontruckparkj22