A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has been arrested and interviewed by police after a metal bar was hurled from a motorway bridge through the windscreen of a fast-moving car.

The windscreen of the Ford Mondeo shattered, with the 18-inch-long bar embedded in the glass.

Remarkably the 38-year-old driver managed to retain control of the car and swerved onto the hard-shoulder of the M61 southbound carriageway at Little Hulton.

He then jumped out after spotting a group of youths running away from the footbridge over the motorway. He scrambled up the motorway embankment and chased the gang.

The driver managed to grab hold of a 12-year-old boy as he tried to run away. He handed him over to the police. The incident happened at 2.30pm yesterday as the motorist - from St Annes - was driving his S-registered car at 70mph along the M61.

A traffic police officer said the driver was "amazingly lucky" to have survived.

Supt Peter Morris, head of the Swinton Police sub division, bitterly condemned the incident.

He said: "It was an absolutely reckless thing to do. The bar could easily have resulted in serious injury or even in the death of an innocent man."

A 12-year-old boy was interviewed by detectives last night. He was later released on police bail until May 10 pending his appearance before a juvenile panel.

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