Midwife 'serious' after M-way rock attack

A midwife was seriously ill in hospital tonight after a boulder was hurled through the windscreen of her car as she drove down a Northern Ireland motorway.

The 56-year-old woman suffered severe head injuries when the boulder was dropped from a bridge over the M2 near Glengormley outside Belfast.

Police said the woman was lucky not to have been killed. Her car smashed into the central reservation before coming to a halt on the hard shoulder.

She was found slumped over her steering wheel suffering from head injuries and a broken arm. The Police Service said it was the latest of a series of attacks on cars on the motorway this year.

Inspector John Terrett said: ‘‘There have been six similar incidents since the beginning of the year - items ranging from petrol bombs to golf balls have been thrown onto the carriageway causing injury and damage.

‘‘They are very deliberate acts of vandalism and this was particularly despicable, totally random and with potentially murderous consequences.’’