By Kirsty Topping
POLICE are hunting a crazed thug who imitated a comic-book icon before smashing up a commuter’s car.
The road rage skinhead chased his victim for 20 minutes, before copying The Hulk and ripping off his shirt.
The assailant then proceeded to wreck the expensive Jaguar.
The attacker, who was driving a Vauxhall Astra, apparently became enraged after being overtaken by the Jaguar XFS near Bathgate, West Lothian, on a road just of the M8 motorway.
He tailed the Jaguar “aggressively” for several miles, while his frantic victim tried to escape him, even attempting to drive to a nearby police station.
But when the victim had to stop his £45,000 vehicle at a set of traffic lights the yob pounced.
FAIRLY UNUSUAL
Ripping his t-shirt from his well-built frame he tore the wing mirror from the car. He then went on to bend the windscreen wipers and savagely kick the Jaguar, causing thousands of pounds of damage.
Turning his attention to the car’s occupant he then tried to open the car door but the terrified victim had locked himself in.
The assailant jumped into his own car and sped off following the incident, which happened at around 5pm last Wednesday.
Seargeant Keith Bendall said the incident had been sparked by the Jaguar overtaking the Astra on a stretch of dual carriageway.
He said: “This was a prolonged incident and fairly unusual. This incident happened over the course of around 15 to 20 minutes, culminating in damage when the vehicle stopped at the traffic lights.
“The driver of the Jaguar overtaking the Astra on the A7066 seems to be the only motivation for this.”
He added that the driver of the Jaguar, who is in his early 40s, tried to get away from his assailant.
He said: “He did try some evasive manoeuvres, going round the roundabout [at Wester Inch] a couple of times in the hope the guy would stop but he kept following him.
“I don’t understand why someone would be so upset with someone overtaking them.”
FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE
Lothian and Borders Police are appealing for witnesses as they try and find the driver. He is described as a white man in his early to mid 20s, around 5ft 8ins tall with a stocky build and a skinhead. He was wearing a grey T-shirt before the incident and jeans.
A police spokesman said: “This was a frightening experience for the victim who was followed by the suspect and then had to watch as his car was subjected to damage.
“The vehicle sustained dents to the driver’s side door panel, a smashed wing-mirror and minor damage to the bumper and window wiper. Fortunately, however, the driver was not injured.
“Anyone who was on Edinburgh Road and saw anything suspicious or who can help us identify the suspect is asked to contact police immediately.”
The Hulk first appeared in Marvel comics in 1962.
Quiet and reserved physicist Dr. Bruce Banner periodically and involuntarily transforms into The Hulk, a rage-filled monster, after being accidentally exposed to gamma radiation during a bomb blast.
