A MAN remains in custody this morning after stones and wood were thrown at cars on the A64.

A total of 17 cars and a motorhome or caravan were damaged when a topless man hurled debris at them from the central reservation and side of the A64 close to the slip road to the A19 and the York Designer Outlet.

This is the first picture of the incident, taken from the dashcam footage of Paul Bovingdon, who was driving home to Copmanthorpe when he saw another motorist struck by an object thrown by the man.

Mr Bovingdon, 69, said he was overtaken by a black Audi and he saw the shirtless man at the same time he heard something strike the metalwork of the passing vehicle, and said "because he overtook me, he took the missile which no doubt would have come my way".

He said: "If you do that road regularly, you kind of switch off, you know what you're doing, and something out of the ordinary happens and it comes as a shock. You can understand how pile-ups happen, if it's busy, everyone's doing 60mph or 70mph and suddenly something goes 'bang'.

"The first time I saw him he was bent down next to the crash barrier on the far side of the road, then he stood up and threw something at the Audi. I heard it hit the guy's car, so it must've been quite big. He was braking very hard and I passed him, so I don't know what happened then."

North Yorkshire Police and the police helicopter were called to the scene at about 3.45pm, and a chase ensued after the suspect fled through gardens in the Fordlands Road area before being arrested at the outlet.

A police spokeswoman said a 21-year-old man from Leeds remained in police custody this morning, after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, assaulting a police constable, section 18 wounding with intent and using threatening or abusive words.