Two teens arrested after bricks and stones thrown onto motorway

Officers have arrested two teenagers after reports of bricks and stones being thrown onto the motorway, with officers condemning the behaviour.

Police received a call shortly after 7:55pm on Wednesday from a distressed motorist who said they had been hit on the head with a brick while driving.

The 52-year-old reported that he had been travelling on the A1 near Blakelaw when a group of youngsters on a footbridge through a brick at his car.

The brick is said to have went through the sunroof and struck him on the head.

Suffering from a cut to the head, the 52-year-old pulled over the car and watched as the teens ran across four lanes of oncoming traffic to flee the scene, causing a number of vehicles to brake.

An investigation was immediately launched and a dispersal order put in place for any groups congregating in the area for 24 hours.

Following a number of enquiries, officers arrested two males aged 14 on suspicion of causing danger to road users.

Condemning the behaviour, Chief Inspector Dave Carruthers of Northumbria Police said: “I’m sure the public will agree with us when we say that this sort of behaviour is completely unacceptable and reckless.

“Throwing anything at moving vehicles is an incredibly dangerous thing to do as it puts road users at risk and in this case, one man had sustained a nasty head injury and we are thankful nothing more serious occurred.

“We will not tolerate behaviour of this this kind and officers will be in the area carrying out extra patrols and a dispersal order remains in place until later tonight.

“We have made two arrests in connection with this incident but our investigation remains ongoing and we would ask anyone who may have seen what happened, or who has information about those involved to get in touch.”