YOUNG bridge jokers are to be warned they could face charges of manslaughter, or even murder, if someone dies from having debris thrown at their car.

Police receive several reports a week of school children throwing bricks or smaller objects at cars.

Last Monday, a lorry driver reported children, aged 11 or 12, throwing stones at cars from the subway on Brighton Hill Roundabout at around 2.45pm.

Half an hour later, youngsters were seen hanging bricks from a footbridge over Ringway South between Black Dam and the Winchester Road roundabout.

Sgt Keith Ward said: "If a brick hits your windscreen when you are travelling at 40mph to 60mph, you could be looking at a fatality.

"If the screen shatters, the driver loses all sight of the road and becomes disorientated. It is a highly dangerous thing to do."

Sgt Ward added that if someone is killed in this way, the person who threw the brick should be tried for murder or manslaughter.

Now, community safety officers from Basingstoke council have written to schools informing them that a uniformed police officer and a council youth officer would like to visit to warn pupils about the dangers - and implications - of such antics.

The scheme will start in January at primary and secondary schools in Oakridge and Popley, the areas with the worst record for this type of crime.

A council spokeswoman said: "The bridges are not our responsibility, but it is an important issue and we want to help schools offset this problem.

"We need to educate children about the seriousness of this kind of action."