A pensioner was injured and seven cars were damaged after stones were thrown at taxis travelling in Sheldon on Wednesday 25th May.

The woman, who is in her 70s, was travelling along the road, at around 10pm when a stone smashed through a window of the taxi, hitting her on the head. She was taken to hospital where she was treated for a fractured skull. Seven other cars were also damaged after the gang threw stones at passing taxis.

Police have vowed to take action following the attacks and have been granted an emergency order allowing officers to remove groups of people from the area who are thought to be involved in anti-social behaviour.

Officers investigating the crimes, including the assault on the woman, are trawling CCTV for any clues into the identity of those responsible and are appealing to any witnesses to come forward. Inspector Steven Rice, from Harborne police station, said:

“This completely reckless behaviour has resulted in someone being injured. It is only by chance that we are not dealing with something more serious, someone could have been killed.

“We believe that they were targeting black cabs and taxi drivers and we want to reassure the taxi driving community that we are taking action to prevent a reoccurrence of last night.

“We have increased police patrols to stop this happening again and we are determined to catch those responsible. This woman was seriously injured and I would appeal to anyone who knows who is responsible to call me or one of my team with names.

“I would also appeal to those responsible to consider their actions and do the right thing and come forward so we can speak to you. It is only a matter of time before we come knocking at your door.”

Anybody with any information should call West Midlands Police on 101