A COUPLE whose car was shot at by gun-toting yobs have slammed police after a windscreen repair man beat officers to the scene.

Warren North, 50, was returning from a petrol station to his home in Market Street, Whitworth, when the driver’s window of his Mercedes was shattered by a shot fired from the side of the road.

But police in Bacup didn’t turn out for almost five hours – even though an RAC repairman answered a call and fixed the car’s window in less than three hours.

Mr North’s wife, Maxine, 44, condemned officers for their response time and said her husband could have been killed by the gunshot.

The couple phoned police just minutes after the incident but said they were told by an operator merely to seal the window with a bin bag.

When they got fed up with waiting for police, a repairman was called out to fix the window before officers finally showed up at the Norths’ house, about five hours after the first call.

Mrs North said: “I am very angry and I am disgusted by the way they handled the call.

“But they have not held their hands up and admitted they were wrong – they have not apologised.

“We never see the PC or PCSO around here and I could not tell you what they look like. Warren could have been killed or seriously injured by this shot.

“He is saying he is sick of the anti-social behaviour round here but I told him it was a God-send that he survived this attack.”

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “Police received a non-emergency call with regard to a damaged car window.

“The caller was contacted on two occasions by police and then visited at their home address later that evening.

“Police have been unable to view the reported damage to the vehicle or obtain a full account of the events from the caller.”