Family of Harold Hill woman injured in concrete attack speak of fears

�Shocking pictures of the Harold Hill woman seriously injured when thugs dropped a bucket-sized bollard from a motorway footbridge onto her car were released yesterday (Thursday) by police, as her family described the nightmare.

Grandmother of-11 Carol Manley, from Northallerton Way, has multiple, severe injuries to her face, ribs and chest following the attack on the A12, last Thursday night.

Her daughter Michelle Clifton, 37, yesterday described the moment she was told the news.

“I do not want anyone else to get the phone call that I got last Thursday,” she said. “I had to go through facing the possibility of losing my mum and telling my children that their nan is in hospital and not being able to tell them if she is going to be alright.”

She urged anyone with information to come forward, saying “idiots liked to brag.”

Carol, 57, was a passenger in a Nissan being driven by husband Steve, 56, when the concrete block slammed through the windscreen as they passed beneath the West Hanningfield Bridge, near Galleywood, Essex, at about 10pm.

Steve described chatting to his wife, when he heard a bang and looked to see saw her “covered in blood” with the bollard resting on her chest and lap.

“Concerns that were running through my head were that my wife could not breathe and I could see the blood pouring from her head,” said Steve.

“She had an operation on spinal injuries two years ago and had recently come out of hospital from an operation on her stomach - so you can imagine I was in a state.”

Steve, who escaped with minor cuts and bruises, added: “This has happened because of some thoughtless people or person who thinks it’s fun to throw pieces of concrete at innocent people and try to kill them so that they can watch blue lights come down the road.”

Earlier the same evening, a mum and daughter, from Chelmsford, Essex, narrowly escaped injury when a concrete slab was flung from another footbridge on the same

stretch of carriageway – less than 10 miles away.

Police are treating both attacks as attempted murder.

Driver Lisa Horne, 26, and her 48-year-old mother Stella Horne, escaped unharmed when their Vauxhall Astra was targeted.

Chief inspector Nick Morris said: “It is only through complete luck that the victims of this pointless crime are still alive.

“We could have been facing a scenario where the cars which were struck could have veered off and been involved in another crash incident.”

Crimestoppers this week put up a �3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the culprits.

Anyone with information should call Essex Police on: 101.