Stone throwers put lives at risk

Steven Halsall has spoken out after things came to a head after he narrowly escaped potentially serious injury this week at a known black-spot after a spate of smaller attacks.

Motorists are reporting up to 10 incidents a night to police where youths throwing stones and other objects off the footbridge at the end of the M58 at the Orrell interchange.

In the latest incident a half brick missed his cab window “by five inches.”

But a second sooner and it would have plough straight through at him.

In a separate incident reader Gillian O’Donnell reports two teenagers by the bridge at M58 junction three hurling a stone that hit her windscreen, so nearly causing a crash at 8pm on Monday evening.

As it was, her son and friend miraculously escaped injury despite being showered with broken windscreen glass.

Police later confirmed that the incident was the fourth of the evening reported to them at or near the location.

Lorry driver Mr Halsall said: “I go to work and I fully expect and have the right to go home to my family safe, as you expect your children to return home safe to you.

“I’m pleading with all parents in the Orrell and Wigan area to make sure that they know what their children are doing and who they are with.

“I hope that they will talk to their children about the dangers of these type of foolhardy actions and may be help to save someone’s life.”

Ms O’Donnell saw the two teenagers just before they tossed the boulder from the bridge.

She said: “I managed to get to the hard shoulder quickly and stop but someone else may not be so lucky.

“These mindless idiots need locking up.

“Stupid, stupid people like this need to be caught.”