Portsmouth women left petrified as man runs into road and starts hitting car bonnet in the middle of the night

Olivia Brooks, 20, and her 18-year-old friend were travelling along Southampton Road, Portsmouth, at about 1.45am on Friday when they were confronted by the bizarre attack.

The assailant walked into the middle of the carriageway, forcing Ms Brooks to stop her Volkswagen Polo, before the snarling male set about his onslaught while the women cowered inside.

Ms Brooks, of Drayton, said: ‘He came out in front of the car and started shouting at us. I tried to reverse but couldn’t get away.

‘He was shouting and making a lot of hand gestures before he went round to the passenger side of the car and started beating the car with his fists and kicking out.

‘He was angry and threatening. We felt like we had been attacked. I was beeping the horn to get him away. I didn’t know what else to do.’

Eventually the women managed to drive to safety when the man momentarily failed to block the car. The News has had to blur his face for legal reasons.

The vehicle was left with damage to the bonnet and a broken light, with an estimated damage of £350. Ms Brooks will have to pay a £500 compulsory excess if she claims through her insurance due to her age.

She added: ‘The damage to the car is going to cost hundreds of pounds. And to make matters worse the police weren’t very helpful considering what had just happened to us.

‘One of the officers said I made the situation more stressful and upset the man by beeping my horn. But what else was I meant to do? I was doing it for our protection and because I didn’t know what else to do.’

Ms Brooks revealed police told her there had been a spate of similar incidents on the same road, thought to be by the same individual. ‘We were told another of the victims provided a positive identification of the man,’ Ms Brooks said.

A police spokesman said: ‘We were called at 1.52am on December 20 with reports of a criminal damage incident in Southampton Road, Portsmouth.

‘It was reported that a man punched and kicked a Volkswagen Polo as it drove down the road.’