Motorists in Shropshire are being urged to report missile crime by bored youngsters during half-term as new figures show one in four drivers have suffered from objects being deliberately thrown at their vehicle.

With the school holiday just around the corner, people are being warned not to turn a blind eye to thugs who throw missiles at cars for fun after independent research revealed that about 90 per cent of drivers in the region don’t bother to report the incidents they see to the police.

This is despite statistics showing that more than 80 per cent of motorists in Shropshire and the West Midlands have witnessed people throwing objects into the road during the last five years.

Autoglass, who commissioned the firm BMG to compile the figures, is also hoping film footage from simulated tests at motor research centre MIRA which shows how catastrophic the damage is when a brick collides with a windscreen, will spur motorists on to report future incidents.

A total of 1,891 motorists were surveyed by BMG between November 13 and 30, 2009.

The study revealed that 82 per cent of people in the region admitted witnessing people hurling objects in front of cars, and that eight out of 10 motorists worry when driving under a bridge with people on it.

Three-quarters (77 per cent) of motorists believe the maximum penalty should be higher than the existing seven years imprisonment and/or a fine, with 63 per cent agreeing that imprisonment or detention is the only appropriate action if casualties are caused.

Autoglass is calling for local authorities to back the campaign by asking for motorists to report incidents and then using this information to consider if installing CCTV or netting is appropriate.

Adrian Walsh, director of Roadsafe, said: “This eye opening report shows that much more needs to be done by parents and schools to educate youngsters. The Highways Agency already has a schools programme in place but ideally this should be extended. More needs to be done by local authorities and motorists should report incidents to the police.”

Nigel Doggett, managing director of Autoglass, said: “We fix thousands of windscreens every day and so we see first-hand the consequences of the actions of these mindless yobs.”

By Russell Roberts