A DRIVER escaped serious injury after youngsters hurled a glass bottle off a bridge, shattering his windscreen.

Wayne Cox, 56, was driving along Upper Mayne, Basildon, when the incident took place.

He said: “I was driving along Upper Mayne near Gloucester Park and as I was approaching the footbridge, I saw a couple of young kids on it.

“One of them had a high-vis jacket on.

“I wondered what they were up to and then the next moment the windscreen exploded.”

Mr Cox captured the incident, which happened at 4.15pm on June 13, on his dashcam.

It clearly shows one of the youngsters bending over the railings to throw a Coke bottle.

The impact immediately shatters Mr Cox’s windscreen.

He said: “I don’t know if they meant to throw it onto the cars below or not.

“But it is just mindless and could have caused a serious accident and injured me badly.

“If it had been a car with its roof down or a motorist with a baby in the back, they could have been really hurt.

“It is a crazy thing to do, especially as their actions could have caused a really serious accident.

“These youngsters just didn’t think. They need to realise how dangerous that was.”

He immediately drove to Basildon police station and police issued a description to local officers to try and track them down, while Mr Cox also went to look for the youngsters.

He said: “I thought I would have a little drive around. I went along Cranes Farm Road and pulled in near the entrance to Gloucester Park.

“They were all there sitting in the car park.

“I called the police and told them that if they hurried they might be able to get them.

“There was a bit of a kerfuffle as they arranged for the police to come as they were supposed to be on another call. But that was cancelled so they were able to come.

“They chased them and caught two, but after looking at the dashcam footage they said neither threw the bottle.

“Unfortunately, they wouldn’t give the police the name of the boy who did and so had to be released.”

This isn’t the first time cars have had their windscreens smashed in Basildon.

Youngsters used catapults to target cars on the A13 earlier this month, shattering the windscreen of a petrol tanker and cracking many others.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Police received reports of criminal damage in Upper Mayne, Basildon.

“A 56-year-old man from Pitsea reported that as he drove his Ford Transit van under a footbridge, an object hit his windscreen and smashed.

“Officers located the suspects and gave chase on foot.

“A 16-year-old boy from Tilbury was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and was later released without charge.”

Call Basildon police station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 if you have any information about the incident.