Advice on how to stay calm on the roads
Attack: Wayne Hope was the victim of a road rage attack in Ambergate
The victim of a bizarre road rage attack is hoping police catch the culprit - before he does the same thing to someone else.
Wayne Hope, 39, was driving along the A610 from Ripley towards the Hurt Arms in Ambergate when the car in front suddenly braked.
He swerved to avoid the silver Astra, but the production worker, who was travelling to his home in the village less than a mile away, was then followed by the enraged driver.
The mystery man pursued inches away from Wayne’s back bumper and flashed his lights at him to pull over.
They both stopped at the side of the road and the silver car driver walked over to Wayne’s car.
After a short argument the furious stranger doused Wayne with a can of red spray paint while his son Junior, aged two, slept in the back seat.
Wayne said: “After I had pulled over, he came up to my car door - he was ranting and raving.
“As I opened my door to tell him to be quiet he sprayed something over me.
“At first I thought it was CS gas or acid! I got out of my car and he sprayed me again, but he missed and it went all over the front of the bonnet.
“It looked like it was covered in blood.”
Wayne said the man, described as being white, around 5ft 7inches tall, between 40 and 50 years old, with grey hair and of slim build, was angry because he felt that Wayne had been following him with his headlights on main beam.
But the dad-of-three says he only had his dipped beamson, and it may have appeared that way because the lights on his Land Rover are higher up and sit at eye level to other drivers.
However the man could not be reasoned with and he covered Wayne in the paint, which caused burns on his hand and went all over the interior of the car.
Now Wayne is hoping police catch the attacker before he does it again.
He said: “If the child seat had been in the front, my boy would have been covered, he could have sprayed him too.
“It was just so strange, I wouldn’t expect something like that to happen round here.”
The Astra driver drove off after the attack in the direction of Belper.
The incident took place around 8.20pm on Saturday, December 29. If you have information that could help police, call the non-emergency number 101.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Ripley
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 12 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
