A Newcastle family has been left in shock after a large stone block was thrown at their car from a motorway bridge.

Ben Thackeray was driving his son and daughter home on the A1M northbound when he spotted some 'young lads' on the bridge ahead.

As he drove under the bridge he thought he saw something dropping and that's when the stone smashed into his windscreen.

Fortunately, Ben and his children were relatively unscathed and he managed to pull over onto the verge.

Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device for just £1.50 a week, click here

Ben, 31, said: "I was just driving down the A1 northbound, just past the Hexham turn off.

The Northern Echo: The bridge where the incident happened

"There was a couple of young lads crossing the bridge ahead of us.

"It looked like they threw something and the next thing I knew it had smashed into the roof of the car.

"It came in and hit me.

The Northern Echo: Glass smashed into the car with two children and their dad inside

"I managed to pull in and get the car off the motorway. Then I called the police.

"My six-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were in the car with me.

"I just think we were very lucky. If it had come through a bit further back it could have hit me in the head.

"Bits of glass that sprayed into the car cut my arm.

The Northern Echo: Ben's arm was cut in several places as the glass sprayed into the car

"We were travelling at 60mph so anything could have happened when it smashed into the roof.

"We're all pretty shaken."

Asked what he wants to see happen next Ben said he believes that there need to be more cameras put in place.

He said: "When you think about what the police have got to work with to find who did this it's going to be very hard.

"The fact that they were under 18 means it's very hard to punish them anyway.

"They have to know that it is not alright to do this.

Read more

"If we had more cameras on that bridge we would have a better chance of finding out who it was.

"Someone reached out to me and said there was a similar incident at the same bridge a few weeks ago. 

"This needs sorting out."