Four friends had a narrow escape when yobs threw an alcopops bottle through their car window.

The driver and passenger of the moving car received cuts when they were showered with glass in the unprovoked attack.

"It does not bear thinking about what would have happened if we had been moving at speed," one of the men in the car said today.

Mike Richardson, Dean Smith and their girlfriends were returning home from an evening at a friend's house when the incident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday night.

Mike, 26, a billing manager for York Gas, said: "We were just pulling out onto Huntington Road from Kirkham Avenue when we saw this group of around seven lads on the corner.

"One of them gestured at us to wind the window down and we ignored him, but then out of the blue this bottle smashed through the passenger side window."

Dean, who was in the passenger seat, was cut on his cheek and ear and his girlfriend, who was driving, was cut on the face.

"It was insane, but if the bottle had actually hit one of them or if the glass had gone in someone's eye it would have been so much worse," said Mike, who was in the back seat and was unhurt.

"It was thrown with some force and took the window out completely. I just don't know what would possess someone to do something like that."

And Mike praised the police for the speed with which they dealt with the incident.

A York police spokeswoman confirmed they were investigating the incident and appealed for witnesses.

* Police today renewed appeals for witnesses to an incident in York city centre where a man was hit over the head with a bottle.

The attack happened near the Theatre Royal at around 9.30pm on March 12.

Officers in particular would like to speak to a woman who spoke to the victim under Bootham Bar.

She is described as having long brown hair and small, round glasses.

If you have information about either incident, contact York police on 01904 631321.

Updated: 08:43 Tuesday, April 24, 2001