The A131 near Great Leighs

A TRAUMATISED woman has spoken of the terrifying moment yobs hurled a cat and concrete block at her car.

The 53-year-old nurse was left shocked and sickened by the attack, which happened on the A131 at Great Leighs near Braintree.

She was approaching a roundabout near the racecourse when up to seven youths jointly threw a concrete slab at her white Ford S-Max which crashed into the passenger side.

Seconds later a small cat was thrown at the car, hitting the bonnet before scurrying away petrified.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous for fears of reprisal, said she initially feared one of the youths was going to be pushed in front of her car.

She said: “I was anxious I was going to knock someone over, so I slowed down.

“They threw a huge piece of concrete, it was bigger than a rugby ball, two or three feet wide.

“I thought the concrete was going to come through the passenger window, how it didn’t I don’t know.

“Within seconds they threw a cat, it was young but not a tiny cat.

“It hit the bonnet the poor thing then scurried off, it was so scared. I don’t know if it was scurrying away to die.”

The woman from Coggeshall - who works at Broomfield Hospital near Chelmsford - suffered wrist, neck and shoulder injuries in the incident.

She added: “How I got home I don’t know, I didn’t stop I was too scared.

“When I got home I threw up and couldn’t talk to anyone. About four or five in the morning I started crying and screaming and had flashbacks.

“I haven’t been back to work since or that part of the road. I was shocked people could do something like this - you don’t expect something like this to happen.

“I’m not too worried about the damage, that is repairable. But I’m shocked they could do that to an animal.”

The concrete slab hit the passenger-side rear door, causing around £1,000 of damage.

It is unclear whether the cat survived the incident, which happened around 8.30pm on Thursday, October 18.

The RSPCA said it had not been reported to them.

The only description that has been given to police is that one of the youngsters was wearing a bright red Nike hoodie.

Anyone with information is urged to contact investigating officers at Braintree police station on 101.