A Blackburn mother who sustained head injuries when her taxi was struck by a missile in broad daylight has spoken of her terrifying ordeal.

Gail Henderson, 45, of Infirmary Road, Blackburn, was a passenger in the mini-cab, travelling on Hereford Road at around 4pm on Tuesday when an object struck the front passenger side window, causing glass to shatter in her face.

Mrs Henderson, who works night shifts as a cleaner at Blackburn Royal Infirmary, was on her way to collect her son from Intack Primary school when the incident occurred.

She initially believed that the vehicle had been shot at with an air rifle and was left in a state of shock, with several cuts above her left eye.

Police believe the injuries were probably caused by a stoen thrown at the vehicle.

She said:"The bang was really loud, you could hear it right down the street. I felt shaken, sick, was crying and then I realised I was bleeding quite badly.

"I had to take the night off work, so I've lost out on an evening's pay and my team were short staffed, so it isn't fair on them."

Taxi driver, Shakeel Ahmed, 32, who works for Intack Taxis, Mill Lane, Blackburn, had to replace the broken window and have the car valeted.

He added: "I was really shocked. I couldn't sleep at all on the night it happened."

Mrs Henderson, who was treated by a paramedic at the scene, says she saw a teenager nearby and was eager to speak to police immediately.

But despite contacting them several times, she was only interviewed on Wednesday evening.

She said: "I'm not very happy with the police. If the car window had been down I'd be in hospital now at the very least.

"An incident has to be dealt with, it's no good waiting for a day."

Police said they believed that the attack was the latest in a series of stone-throwing incidents involving youths and that they acted appropriately on the information provided.

Inspector Debbie Carter, of Blackburn Police, said: "Although Mrs Henderson thought an air weapon had been used there is no evidence to support that. A number of taxis and buses have been stoned in the area and we are working with the bus company to tackle the problem.

"We were told by the ambulance that Mrs Henderson had no injuries, so at that time she was the witness and not the aggrieved. We called the informant on her mobile and later tried to contact her at home, but there was no answer. We were only made aware of her injuries after we had sent the patrol to visit her.

"We contacted the taxi driver first because of the damage."

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