A 17-year-old from East Hanningfield was attacked today by two men wielding a machete, during a driving lesson with his 22-year-old brother.
Archie Kirkwood, 17, was driving along Leighams Road at around 1.30 pm, supervised by his older brother Angus, when a small commercial van followed the pair, flashing its lights and beeping, the boys' father David Kirkwood told the Chronicle.
The boys stopped the car, and were attacked by the two men, who pulled a machete from the van, Mr Kirkwood said.
"My sons were attacked with a machete," he explained. "It was a hideous incident and fortunately they weren't badly hurt. One man hit my son Angus on the head and the body with a machete, but luckily he was inept at using it and Angus wasn't badly injured."
"It's almost staggering that they weren't killed. Fortunately there were no serious injuries, but that is just their good fortune. Archie was punched in the face several times by one of the men and Angus was hit in the head with a machete.
"We are all in shock, it just seems so surreal. They were just driving along a country road. It's just the most bizarre thing to have happened that these men have gone to their van and intimidated these boys and launched an attack with a machete."
Police remain at the scene of the attack today, and anyone with any information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101.
