Motorists' lives are in danger in Otley because of youths pelting cars with stones, rocks and other objects from a footbridge over a busy dual carriageway.

Police have condemned the youngsters involved in at least four incidents in a matter of weeks.

Officers and town councillors have pledged a crackdown on the crimes and are urging Otley residents to be vigilant in tracking down the people responsible.

In the most recent incident, Otley man Ian Shutt, 24, escaped a serious accident when a traffic cone was thrown at his Ford Fiesta on the Otley by-pass.

He slammed on the brakes and watched as the cone bounced off his bumper, causing damage estimated at £350.

A female driver escaped serious injury last Thursday when large stones were thrown at her Peugeot car as she travelled under the footbridge at around 9.45pm.

As she swerved to avoid them, the car hit other rocks thrown into the road which ruptured the car's oil tank.

And in another incident, a Subaru car was hit with a bottle which bounced off the vehicle, causing damage to its bonnet.

A woman was left shocked when her windscreen shattered after a rock was pelted at the car from one of the bridges over the road in the middle of January.

Mr Shutt, of Lisker Avenue, said: "As I got to the bridge, I saw out of the corner of my eye what appeared to be a traffic cone flying towards my car," he said.

"It was coming so fast, I didn't really have time to react, but luckily it landed just on the front of the car.

"It caused a fair amount of damage to the car, but it could have been far worse. If I had been going any faster, it would have gone straight through my windscreen."

Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer at Weetwood Police, Peter Krushniak, said the police were treating the matter very seriously.

He added: "Even when you have a child's football fly out at your car it is terrifying because you have to make a split second decision and you certainly could be looking at loss of life in these cases."

Otley Councillor Nigel Francis, who lives only a matter of metres from the bypass, said that it would be very easy for someone to be killed or seriously injured by such a crime.

He said: "I have had a similar incident happen where an aniseed ball was thrown at the car and it was terrifying, even though it was a small object.

"That is a fast road, and when something hurtles towards you, you don't know what it is so your reaction is to either swerve or slam on the brakes, and that could cause a huge crash one of these days.

"I will be vigilant when I am in the area and I hope the police and residents will also watch out for these youths and report incidents straight away."

l Anyone with information about the incidents should contact Weetwood Police on (0113) 2413459.