Heavy ceramic plate thrown at a young man in Penryn

The plate throwing incident happened at around 10pm on Thursday April 4 as the man walked along Lower Market Street, Penryn.

broken plate up Lower Market St (Image: Supplied)

Ten minutes later, police also found a car parked in a lay-by on the A39 with all its windows smashed surrounded by broken ceramic plates.

An eyewitness told the Packet that the young man was walking back home eating his takeaway when four men in a passing car hurled a heavy ceramic plate at him.

The victim was not hit but the plate missed him by inches, and narrowly missed the glass window beside him.

The eyewitness said that the young man told him he felt “very shaken and disturbed”.

“They hurled a heavy ceramic plate at a young man who was peacefully walking home, McDonald's takeaway in hand. I witnessed it,” he said.

broken plate down Lower Market St (Image: Supplied)

“The victim, who was not hit but was missed by inches, as was the glass window beside him. He said to me afterward that he felt very shaken and disturbed.”

The victim called the police, who came and took names, phone numbers, and short descriptions of events before driving away.

The witness said the perpetrators were each a young man or an older teen boy in a silver, grey, or white VW Polo, or a similar small car.

He told the Packet that this sort of thing was happening regularly and, in 2022, he’d had an egg thrown at his head from a car as he walked along the same road and a friend had one thrown at his head hitting him while he walked along Arwenack Street, Falmouth, just a fortnight ago.

“I'm a Penryn resident,” he said “who can see crime on a daily basis without having to leave his home, whether it be shoplifters at the local Spar, who tell me that they get 20 incidents a day; assaults, vandalism, drugs, antisociality, and the harrying of decent folk by rogue teens and roving vagabonds; or now potentially lethal objects thrown at folk from cars by young men.”

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police told the Packet: “A man in his 20s was walking on Lower Market Street when a plate was thrown at him from a passing car.

“The plate missed him but the uninjured man was left shaken by the incident which happened just after 10pm on 4 April.

“Police are investigating and appealing for any witnesses or dashcam footage of the offending vehicle, described as a small silver or grey car – possibly a VW Polo, and containing four young men.

“Officers attended and conducted a search.

“Around 10.10pm they were stopped by a member of the public reporting criminal damage to a car in a layby on the A39 between Treliever and Treluswell roundabouts.

“Windows had been smashed on the Suzuki Ignis and dinner plates were found around and within the car.

“Anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact police online or by telephone on 101, quoting crime reference 50240080121 [assault] or 50240080169 [criminal damage].”