A man claims teenagers threw stones at his car from a bridge in Cardiff which smashed his rear window, covering his dog with shards of glass. Carl Harris, 59, from Cardiff, had been driving towards the slip road for Culverhouse Cross on the A4232 on Thursday when the incident occurred.
As he was travelling on the inside lane, in slow-moving traffic, just before 5pm he heard a loud bang and initially thought he'd been hit by another car. He said: "It was a shock because of the noise it made. After the bang I looked in my rear mirror and saw all the damage to my rear windscreen - I had to pull into the side of the road quickly as my dog was in the back and I had to make sure he was safe."
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Carl explained that they were on the way home from a walk at Fforest Fawr. His German Shepherd, Waldo, was a "mistreated dog" before he bought him and is naturally nervous. He added: "This has added to his anxiety now as he was in the boot of the car - harnessed up - when the windscreen glass shattered and had nowhere to go." Carls said that Waldo "was physically shaking from the trauma and remained unsettled into the night."
When Carl glanced into his side mirror, he claims he saw around three young teenagers run away from the scene towards Ely. He believes that they had thrown a stone which hit his window, although it did not enter the car. To drive home, Carl had to push all the glass into his car before continuing his journey home. "I called the Police and reported it at 5.10pm, they were going to send out a patrol vehicle to look for the boys," said Carl.
"I was advised that there is only a traffic flow camera on the bridge and I know that there is no CCTV camera near, as it's where I often go walking. They [SWP] called me back later to advise that it was highly unlikely that I would hear back from them due to no CCTV."
Carl said he's thankful traffic was moving slowly on the 70mph road, as it would be a "different scenario if a car was travelling fast and [had] a stone going through someone's front windscreen."
The damage to the car will cost Carl £115 through his insurance excess, which he says isn't ideal during a cost-of-living crisis. He said: "I also have to wait until November 9 for a new window to be fitted, as that is the earliest date AutoGlass can fit despite the window being available on October 31."
A spokesperson from South Wales Police said: "Throwing objects into the path of moving vehicles is incredibly dangerous and the public can be reassured that those caught behaving in such a reckless manner will be dealt with.
"It is fortunate on this occasion no one was seriously injured but significant damage has been caused to a vehicle. We appreciate how frightening this must have been.
"The local Neighbourhood Policing Team is aware of the incident and will be paying close attention to the bridge.
"Anyone who witnessed this incident, has dashcam footage or has any information on those involved is urged to contact South Wales Police quoting reference *364631. Please go to https://bit.ly/SWPProvideInfo or call 101."
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