Metal object smashes into campervan driver on M42

A heavy metal object, believed to be a kingpin lock for a lorry, smashed through Chris and Rachel Benn's campervan on the motorway

A driver was left screaming in agony after a metal missile flew through his campervan window, shattering his arm in six places.

Chris and Rachel Benn were travelling back from a holiday in Dorset with their dog, when a kingpin lock shattered their windscreen and impaled Mr Benn's arm.

The pair from Leeds, who are appealing for dashcam footage, were driving along the M42 northbound between junctions 9 and 10 in Warwickshire, on Friday 21 June at around 14:30 BST.

Speaking about the kingpin lock which flew into the car, Mrs Benn said: "It's that heavy, if it had hit his face, I'd have had a dead body next to me. I can't bear thinking about it."

The steel kingpin lock, believed to be from a lorry, smashed through the windscreen of the couple's campervan

The object came crashing into the car within minutes of the couple's campervan joining the M42.

Mrs Benn had been reading her Kindle when she was suddenly aware of an "almighty bang", before hearing her husband say: "My arm's gone."

She looked over at Mr Benn and saw his arm "dangling".

Mr Benn said: "I heard a whistling and saw something, so I pulled my head to one side and a massive crash happened.

"The next thing I knew, everything started to go really really slowly.

"I knew I needed to get to the hard shoulder. I knew something had hurt me, but I didn't know what."

Mrs Benn added: "Somehow he got over to the hard shoulder and when the adrenaline was gone he just started screaming in agony."

Chris Benn's arm was shattered in six places, leaving him in "agony" and in hospital in Birmingham for more than a week

The couple did not discover what had caused the injury until Mrs Benn climbed into the back of the campervan to get paracetamol for her husband.

Under their bed, covered in oil, was the kingpin lock for a lorry, which is used to prevent people from stealing the vehicle's contents when the trailer is unsupervised.

"I had to use two hands to lift it, it was so heavy," Mrs Benn said.

"It was lying under the bed, covered in oil, and Chris had oil on his t-shirt so we knew that's what had caused it."

Mr Benn was rushed to hospital and given several blood transfusions, but doctors believe the fridge and air conditioning engineer could be off work for a year and might never regain full use of his arm.

"Physically, I'm in massive pain. Mentally, I'm not doing so well," Mr Benn said.

"It's hard to take. I just think 'What if? What if? What if?'"

The lock flew through the windscreen, catapulting off Mr Benn's arm and headrest before hitting the roof of the campervan

Rachel Benn had to use two hands to carry the heavy metal object

The pair believe a lorry driver forgot to take the kingpin lock back into the cabin, causing it to fly off the vehicle while driving on the motorway.

"We want dashcam footage so we can try and identify where it came from. Someone needs to be held accountable," Mrs Benn said.

"This could have killed someone, it was a very close call. Since it happened, all we've done is speculate.

"We wonder if they knew, if it's a common occurrence, does it happen all the time? It just drives us a bit insane.

"Please, please, please keep [these locks] safe. It could have been fatal. It was a miracle it wasn't."

A spokesperson for Warwickshire Police said: "We're investigating an incident where an object went through a campervan window causing serious injury to the shoulder of the driver.

"The driver, a man in his 50s, went to hospital with his injuries. The incident was reported to police at 14:50 BST on June 21."