A MAN says he looked on in horror as two youngsters placed a concrete block in the middle of a busy road.

The resident believes the “dangerous and stupid” prank could have resulted in a motorist being injured or even killed after the block was placed on the Hallow-bound lane of Hylton Road in Worcester just after 4.30am on Tuesday.

He was so shocked by the early morning antics of the “17 or 18-year-olds” that he ventured outside in his pyjamas to move the heavy object which had been taken from his neighbour’s garden, close to the Crown and Anchor pub.

The man, who immediately contacted police, said the two culprits were also carrying a lifebuoy, which he believed had been taken from the nearby riverside.

“The two lads were making a noise outside my house,” said the man, who doesn’t wish to be named.

“Looking out of the window they pulled some concrete blocks from my neighbour’s garden and placed one of the blocks in the middle of the northbound track.

“This is extremely dangerous as someone could have been injured or even killed. “When they moved on I ran outside in my pyjamas in the pouring rain and removed the concrete block. These lads need to be caught as they could do the same again.”

He said the road is busy even early in the morning, although he believes no motorists, thankfully, had to swerve to avoid the concrete. West Mercia Police confirmed two 17-year-old’s were spoken to by officers about the lifebuoy.

“They were traced to nearby university premises where security staff had already spoken to them and returned the lifebuoy,” said a force spokesman. “The youths said they had found it on a wall and were given appropriate words of advice by police.

“Two people had been seen on CCTV walking away from the Sabrina Bridge.”

The response hasn’t pleased the Hylton Road resident, however, who said: “A slap on the wrist is hardly a punishment.”

The lifebuoy was taken just yards from where teenager Tony Ballard drowned while swimming in the river in July 2009. The 17-year-old disappeared under the water as he and three friends cooled off on a hot summer’s afternoon. They had been messing about in the water at ‘the beach’, near the grandstand at Pitchcroft, when they decided to race to the other side.