Spikes in road: motorists warned to stay alert

Byron van der Ross was driving behind a female colleague on his way home from work on Wednesday May 26, at 4am, when she drove over a metal strip of spikes lying across the road.

They were approaching the bridge on the M5, just past Dick Burton Road, to turn left into Fairways/Parkwood.

Mr Van der Ross said he swerved, avoiding her car. Seeing that her front tyre was damaged, he told her to drive further down the road to a safer place. While she was doing this, they saw two more cars drive over the spikes splitting open their tyres.

As Mr Van der Ross was phoning the police, he saw a police vehicle pass by and flagged it down. While he was changing the tyre, the police officers drove down the road to where the metal strip had been and they found what Mr Van der Ross thought were three men under the bridge armed with guns.

Grassy Park police spokeswoman Captain Wynita Kleinsmith confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property had been opened. She said only one man, a 43-year-old from Parkwood, had been arrested. He appeared in court on Friday May 28.

Captain Kleinsmith said she could not provide further details as that was all the information reported on the docket.

Motorists should stay alert, keep following distance and be aware of suspicious people standing near the road, she said.