Police are appealing for witnesses after a piece of concrete was thrown from a bridge on the A127 into the path of traffic in the early hours of Saturday morning (October 25).

The fist sized piece of rubble landed in the Southend bound track of the A127. It is believed to have been thrown from the bridge at the A128 Halfway House junction in Brentwood.

A 55-year-old man from Billericay who was driving a white Ford Focus had no choice but to drive over the concrete. It caused £2,000 worth of damage to the front grill, bumper and number plate of the car.

Officers attended and searched the area to find out who may have thrown the item. The bridge was fully checked and nothing appears to have come loose and fallen from it. The incident happened at around 1am.

Detective Inspector Mark Barber said: "This could have been so much worse. Fortunately only the victim’s car was damaged but he could have been killed or seriously injured if he’d had to swerve off the road or if it had crashed through the windscreen and hit him.”

He added: "If anybody saw anything suspicious in the area, or who knows of anybody who may have been involved please contact officers at Loughton CID as soon as possible.”

Essex Police treats incidents of missiles being thrown from bridges on to the road as extremely serious, the consequences of such an act puts road users in danger of serious injury as well as potentially causing significant delays on the roads. Anyone who sees bridge crimes in progress should dial 999 immediately.

Anybody with any information about this particular incident is asked to call Essex Police on 101 and ask for Loughton CID quoting incident number 83 of October 25.

People can also give information to the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.