Terror after boys fire airgun at windscreen

A MOTORIST had to swerve and mount a pavement after schoolboy snipers as young as ten fired an airgun at her windscreen.

Metal ball bearings cracked the windscreen and left two holes in the car.

Politicians and police today condemned the attack, which has reignited calls for a licensing scheme to be introduced for air weapons.

Driver Julie Stewart, 39, today said the incident could have caused a serious road accident and told how the unprovoked attack has left her a nervous wreck.

The customer services assistant was driving home after visiting her mother-in-law at around 7.20pm on Wednesday when she spotted two youngsters acting suspiciously behind a wall on Howden Road South in Livingston.

As she got closer she realised the pair were pointing what looked like guns at passing vehicles. Before she knew what was happening, the youths, aged between ten and 14 years old, fired the guns at her blue Mondeo.

The mother-of-two had to brake sharply as the bullets smashed off the windscreen, forcing her to lose control of the car which then swerved on to the pavement.

The attack comes just a week after police launched the first dedicated 24-hour armed response unit in Edinburgh to deal with gun-related incidents. Last month, it emerged airgun incidents in the Lothians had almost doubled over four years.

Mrs Stewart said: "My heart leapt straight into the air, I never experienced anything like this before in this area. I don't think these yobs realise the damage they actually caused both to my car and to my nerves.

"They have to learn that these types of guns are not toys. This could have been an elderly person or someone with a kid in the back. It could have also caused a serious road accident."

Kenny MacAskill, SNP MSP for Lothians and shadow justice minister, said the attack was yet another reminder of the threat airguns pose to public safety.

He said: "Airguns are not toys, they are real weapons that can cause serious injury and they are a particular problem in Scottish society.

"The recent Violent Crime Bill presented by the Westminster government did not go nearly far enough in tackling this problem.

"We urgently need a licensing scheme for air weapons. Until then, incidents such as this will be all too common."

A spokesman from Lothian and Borders police said: "This is just another incident of airgun crime which needs to be nipped in the bud. We are currently investigating the incident."

Meanwhile, in another incident, an air rifle was seized and destroyed by police after two teenagers were caught waving it around in the street.

A member of the public contacted the police after spotting the youths carrying the gun in Oak Crescent, Mayfield, Dalkeith, yesterday.