Police in Mid Ulster are appealing for witnesses after criminal damage was caused to a safety camera van in Coagh on Monday afternoon, 22nd June.
The Road Safety Partnership van was operating on Ballinderry Bridge Road when at 2.50pm a male approached the police vehicle, attacking it by throwing masonry at it, smashing several windows and shouting abuse. The suspect then made off from the scene.
Enquiries are ongoing to locate the male suspect, and the van is now off the road for repairs.
Condemning the incident, Mid-Ulster Chief Inspector Trevor Campbell said: "The front and passenger side windows of the vehicle were smashed, and the camera window and back door were cracked and dented.
"Fortunately the driver was not physically injured, but you can imagine this was a frightening ordeal which lasted for several minutes. The driver was doing their job, and to be subjected to such fear is unacceptable and appalling.
"The purpose of safety camera deployments, whether by fixed cameras, or in our mobile road safety vans, is to slow drivers’ speeds and keep everyone safer on the roads.
“Speeding is one of the ‘fatal five’ causes of collisions, and we deploy the vans to locations across Northern Ireland where there is a proven history of collisions, or where the local community has concerns and has requested speed enforcement action. They are there to help reduce serious and fatal collisions on our roads and are a key element in reducing drivers’ speeds.
“One of the greatest contributions each road user can make is to reduce their speed. Speeding is a dangerous crime and poses a serious threat to other road users and we, as a Police Service, have a duty to detect those who break the law and deal with any offences.
"If we all stop speeding, road safety improves, lives can be saved and fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries."
Police appeal to anyone with information about this incident, or who may have witnessed what happened, or has footage which captured it, to call 101 quoting reference 1070 22/06/26.”
Alternatively, you can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/