(starts)
A motorist was injured when a microwave was thrown at his Ford Fiesta windscreen from a moped in a baffling nighttime attack.
Police said the driver – unnamed but in his 20s – saw two people on a moped travelling past him with no lights on before the passenger tossed the microwave at his car.
The incident took place in the town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, on Saturday night (15th October), at about 11pm.
A photo of the car shows the microwave wedged in the shattered windscreen right in front of the steering wheel.
The Lincolnshire police said in a statement on Sunday, 16th October: “We are investigating a report of an incident on Heapham Road, Gainsborough, where a microwave was thrown at the windscreen of a moving car.
“The windscreen was damaged, and the occupant of the car was injured, thankfully not seriously.”
Police added that the incident took place while the motorist was “driving on Heapham Road, near to the cemetery, the driver of a blue Ford Fiesta”.
They said that the motorist, a man in his 20s, “saw a moped with two people on it travelling towards him without any lights on.
“As the moped passed the blue car, the rear passenger is reported to have thrown a microwave at the windscreen of the car.
“The microwave was lodged into the glass, causing the windscreen to shatter and glass to spray inside the car.”
The police also said: “There have been a number of reports of criminal damage to cars in Gainsborough, both last weekend and again this weekend. While we are keeping an open mind, we believe the incident on Heapham Road and the other reports of damage to vehicles maybe (sic) connected.
“We have taken reports of damage to vehicles on Corringham Road, Garfield Steet and Forster Street, where witnesses have seen a rider and passenger on a moped, and using items described as a goal post, and a weapon believed to be an axe to damage cars.”
Superintendent Phil Baker, West Division, Lincolnshire Police, said: “We are taking these crimes seriously and have our officers, including additional officers, working hard to identify those involved.
“All of these incidents are serious, the incident where the microwave was thrown at the car is a real concern.
“We need the help of the community to come forward and tell us what they know. There will be people who know who are responsible. This time no one was seriously injured, we want to identify who is responsible. My ask of the local community is to contact us. This can be directly or through the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously.”
The police added: “We would like to hear from you if you have any information that could assist the inquiry.”
They said that members of the public with information could send an email to force.control@lincs.police.uk, referencing the incident (incident 124 of 16th October) in the subject box.
They also said that people can call their non-emergency number 101, quoting incident 124 of 16th October or people can reach them via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
(T4/ends)
