A driver has described the terrifying moment youths hurled a rock at her car – smashing its windscreen.
Youths dropped a rock "the size of a fist" on to the woman's car as it passed under a footbridge on the A46 between Glenfield and Groby.
It shattered a small part of the passenger side of the windscreen, inches in front of the driver's 66-year-old mother.
The 39-year-old driver, who did not want to be named, believes the impact would have been far greater and the consequences more serious if she had not slowed down seconds earlier.
She said she decelerated when she spotted the youths ahead, as she anticipated "they were up to no good". "In my eyes, it's attempted murder," she said. "It would have been an awful lot worse if I'd been going at normal speed.
"I'm sure the rock would have come through the windscreen – and my mother was in the passenger seat.
"Fortunately, I'd seen the three youths up there and just had a feeling they were going to do something like this.
"They looked like they were up to no good – and I'm so glad I saw them and reacted the way I did."
The woman, whose four-year-old daughter was in the car, continued along the A46 until she found a suitable spot to pull over. She then called the police.
"My mum was really shocked and my daughter was very upset, too, although she's so young she has shrugged it off," the woman said.
"I wanted to put this in the Mercury because I wanted to warn other drivers to be aware of the dangers.
"You have to pay attention at all times on the road, but not everybody would have looked at those young men on the bridge and thought 'they're going to throw something at me'.
"If I could speak to the youths who did this to us, I would probably want to wring their necks first, but I would try to explain to them just how dangerous and stupid their actions were."
Mike Salisbury, chairman of Glenwatch, the Neighbourhood Watch group for Glenfield, said: "There is no logic to this – unless they got some thrill from it. I really don't know.
"I can't recall anything similar happening here before, so hopefully this was an isolated incident and they have realised the consequences of throwing anything at a moving car."
Leicestershire Police are looking for the three youths, who were all dressed in dark hooded tops. One was riding a bicycle.
They are believed to have made off towards Groby.
A police spokeswoman said: "This is an extremely reckless thing to do.
"This action could cause serious injury to people travelling in cars below."
Anyone with information should contact Leicestershire Police on 101.
