A POTENTIALLY fatal road incident was narrowly averted when a gang of four or five youths threw a brick from an A31 footbridge onto a passing car, cracking its windscreen.

The victim, a 50-year-old man from Basingstoke, was driving his Nissan Primera in peak afternoon traffic when it was struck by a brick thrown by the youths from a bridge near Farnham Business Centre.

Though he was uninjured in the ordeal, police are treating the incident extremely seriously.

It bears similarity to a case in March on the M3 at Camberley in which a lorry driver was killed.

Father of one, Michael Little, 53, died from heart failure caused by a blow to the chest from a brick thrown onto his windscreen.

He was able to force his 44- tonne lorry on to the hard shoulder before collapsing, averting injury to surrounding drivers. A police murder investigation is ongoing.

The Farnham incident happened on April 19 at around 2-05 pm, and caused £160 damage to the victim's car. Police are now checking CCTV images from a security company based at the town's business centre.

According to the victim, the youths, who were wearing hooded tops and jeans, then made off in the direction of the town centre.

Rebecca Rees, of the AA Motoring Trust, said such incidents were rare, but was concerned to learn of the Farnham case as it could have been "potentially fatal".

She said: "There needs to be more CCTV so that people doing this are caught on camera. In some cases, bridges could be enclosed as with one near Camberley on the M3."

Similarly concerned in light of the recent Camberley fatality, a spokesperson for Surrey County Council said it would be evaluating safety measures with police.

Leading the investigation into the incident, Farnham Pc Graham Edgley said: "This could have turned out very differently. It was extremely lucky that the object thrown from the footbridge did not smash the windscreen of the car as it struck it.

"Had this happened, the driver and his passenger might have been seriously injured. Anyone with any information should contact us straight away."

Any witnesses should contact Pc Graham Edgley on (01252) 573723, or anonymously Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.