Shropshire drivers warned after tyres punctured by spiked devices
Police have issued a warning to drivers after spiked devices have been left on roads in Shropshire, aimed at puncturing tyres and damaging vehicles.
Motorists have had tyres punctured around Ironbridge and Tweedale by the devices, called caltrops, which were historically used to injure horses when they were used as a main mode of transport.
The device is made of two or more spikes that are designed to always point upwards, no matter where it is placed.
At least two cars have been damaged by the caltrops on roads around Tweedale and also on the Buildwas Road between Ironbridge and Buildwas.
Timothy Ralph, of Waterloo Street in Ironbridge, said his daughter Lorien had a tyre punctured as she was leaving his home to return to her home in Devon on Friday.
He said: "She was driving and heard one of her tyres go bang.
"One of the neighbours came out to see what the bang was. I knew immediately what it was because a friend of mine had seen one burst his wife's tyre near the Pit Head roundabout in Tweedale.
"It really needs publicising because it could burst 100 of tyres before anyone notices the implement that has been used.
"It is very obviously malicious."
Terri-Anne Powell, a spokeswoman for West Mercia Police said they had been informed of an incident at 11am on Friday on Buildwas Road where a hard tube with spikes in it had been found.
She said: "It had been passed on to the local Safer Neighbourhood Team to be aware of if there are any further such incidents."
