Drivers and pedestrians targeted as ball bearings fired as missiles at motorway traffic

Windscreen of a woman's car was shattered by rock in a separate incident on the M8Road safety campaigners have expressed horror at the dangerous acts

Stock image of M8 motorway in Tipperary

ROAD safety campaigners have expressed horror after it emerged a vandal used a slingshot and metal ball-bearings to target cars just off the Dublin-Cork motorway.

The revelation came as another motorist was lucky to escape serious injury when the windscreen of her car was shattered after it had been hit by a rock deliberately thrown at passing vehicles.

Gardaí have now increased surveillance of areas where such incidents have occurred - as community activists in Tipperary have demanded firm action before someone is badly injured or even killed.

Multiple incidents have been reported over recent weeks of vehicles being targeted on the Dublin-Cork motorway in different parts of Tipperary.

The latest involved a woman narrowly escaping injury when the windscreen of her car was shattered by a rock thrown as she was driving onto the M8 near Cashel.

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In another horrific incident, both motorists and pedestrians were targeted by a young person armed with a slingshot who fired metal ball-bearings.

Community activist Liam Browne appealed via TippFM for gardaí to be supported by public representatives in cracking down on such dangerous behaviour - and for the public to assist gardaí by reporting any such incidents they witness.

"All people can see is every day driving up and down a road having stones thrown at them and nobody helping them out. That's seriously unfair on people," he warned.

Road safety campaigners warned that if such behaviour is not stamped out, a tragedy could result.

In March, another motorist had their windscreen shattered while driving along the M8 in Tipperary by a rock.

Luckily, the motorist was able to safely pull their vehicle over to the hard shoulder though their windscreen had been damaged by the missile.

It followed similar incidents over recent times where objects were thrown from bridges over motorways in Dublin, Wicklow, Meath and Cork.

The most horrific incident occurred in Dublin five years ago where a woman claimed that kittens were tossed from a motorway flyover directly into the path of a vehicle travelling below.

In Wicklow, rocks were thrown from a bridge at cars passing on the N11.

Gardaí in Cork had to increase routine patrols of some motorway flyovers after a series of incidents in 2015 where rocks were thrown at the windscreens of cars and trucks passing underneath.

In one case, a collision between vehicles was narrowly averted.

In 2014, an ambulance had to be taken out of service after being damaged when it was hit by rocks thrown from a motorway flyover on the M4 motorway on the Meath-Kildare border.

Tipperary gardaí expressed concern at reports of objects being thrown at traffic on the M8 motorway.

One latest incident occurred after a motorist said they spotted a number of people standing on an M8 flyover bridge just outside Cahir.

As their car passed underneath the bridge, the motorist was shocked to realise that an item had been thrown.

This item - believed to be a rock - struck and shattered the windscreen.

Fortunately, the motorist was alerted by the group on the bridge that they had slowed down - and was able to bring their vehicle to the hard shoulder without incident to inspect the damage caused.

The motorist was uninjured but was left shocked by the incident.

Sergeant Declan O'Carroll warned that such behaviour could result in tragic consequences.

"These are serious incidents and Gardaí are appealing to people to be aware of the potential fatal consequences of these actions."

"It is a serious offence and this one is being fully investigated," he said.

Gardaí urged people to think of the consequences of such actions on a busy motorway.

Detectives have also urged anyone with information about the identity of those involved to help gardaí with their inquiries.