A man wearing a balaclava leapt out of a car in the early hours and threw bricks at a police car.

The police car windscreen was smashed but the officers escaped injury. Both were badly shaken.

Details of the incident in Cottenham in the early hours of Good Friday were confirmed today (Tuesday) in an official statement.

A police spokesman said: “Two of our officers were on patrol in Cottenham in the early hours of Friday morning when they spotted two vehicles, an Audi and a silver pick up, acting suspiciously.

“They followed the vehicles and a man, wearing a balaclava, got out of the passenger side of the Audi and threw two bricks at the police car.”

The spokesman added: “The bricks hit the windscreen causing it to smash. Thankfully the officers were not injured.

“The vehicles made off towards Wilburton.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 35/24520/20

Villagers say the incident happened at around 1.20am when the officers tried to stop the suspicious vehicles at the Twenty Pence end of the High Street.

One villager claimed the men had baseball bats as well as bricks, but this was not confirmed by police.

“The two young officers were very shaken but very stoic about it all,” said one resident.

“Several police vehicles then arrived and the damaged vehicle, with its windscreen smashed, was recovered. This was a deliberate, violent attack against two young officers of the law. Outrageous. I wish both a speedy recovery.”