Stoned

Local Barrow youth’ stoning taxis and buses seems to have become an accepted occupational hazard. Most drivers don't even bother to report it to the police as they feel that they would be wasting their time.

But on the other side of the world in Australia as a result of a 22-year-old woman suffering a fractured skull and brain damage when hit with a 1kg rock thrown from an over-pass last year the law has been changed. The mere act of throwing a rock at a vehicle - whether it hits something or not - will now become a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to five years. The Australian Government say "we will not tolerate this kind of idiotic behaviour. To deter rock throwers, we will legislate to make it a crime to throw an object at a car, boat or train, even if nobody is harmed."

Under legal changes which remove the need for prosecutors to prove intent to injure or cause damage, anyone who simply drops or throws a rock toward a moving vehicle will be guilty the minute the missile leaves their hand. It will no longer be a defence for the yob to claim they didn't mean to hurt anyone. The prosecution will not even have to prove that the accused was aware their conduct risked the safety of any person, or that the object made contact.

Maybe our lawmakers should be taking a long hard look at following suit over here and the sooner the better. We have had many cases in the UK of drivers being killed and injured by objects being thrown at vehicles, isn't it only right that we should have the same protection from these mindless yobs.