TWO men have been jailed for two-and-a-half years for throwing items off a bridge onto passing vehicles on the M5 and M49 near South Gloucestershire.

Jordan Alan Arendorf and Peter John Nugent, both 19 and of Lawrence Weston, Bristol, appeared before Bristol Crown Court last Friday and were each jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting four charges of causing a danger to road users.

They also admitted one charge of causing Actual Bodily Harm, after a lorry driver was injured when a stone slab went through his window and struck him in the chest.

PC Rog Ibrahim said: “On five days in April and June 2016, Jordan Arendorf and Peter Nugent went onto an overbridge near Kings Weston Lane and threw items onto vehicles using the M5 and M49.

“On one of the occasions, a stone slab went through the window of a 44-tonne cement lorry and struck the driver, who needed hospital treatment after suffering severe bruising. In another incident, more than £4,400 was caused to a caravan.

“During the police investigation we reviewed hours of CCTV footage and took witness statements from people across the country, leading to the arrests of Arendorf and Nugent.

“Their actions were reckless to the extreme and could easily have resulted in a fatality. It’s impossible to comprehend how anyone could have such disregard for other people’s safety.

“The fact they were both given a prison sentence shows how seriously these incidents were taken by the court.”