A WOMAN has been left blind in one eye after a teenage boy shone a laser into her eye.
The 33-year-old was walking under a railway bridge in Dumbarton Road, Clydebank, when she was approached by two teenage boys and one then shone a laser light at her face, leaving her blind.
Both boys were described as white, aged about 14 or 15 and wearing dark-coloured sportswear. One of them had brown hair in a quiff.
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The woman was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment and later reported the incident to police.
Det Sgt Kevin Mulvenna, of Police Scotland, said: “This was a completely unprovoked and senseless attack on this woman, which has left her blind in one eye. The youths responsible must be caught as soon as possible.
“To point a laser pen at someone is highly irresponsible. Extensive inquiries are on-going to trace the two boys, with officers carrying out inquiries in the local area and studying CCTV footage to identify them.”
It is the latest incident involving laser pens amid growing calls for them to be outlawed.
Five people have been charged after a laser pen was shone at an aircraft in Edinburgh last week.
Officers on patrol in the Drylaw area spotted green light being shone from a residential street near Edinburgh Airport. Airport bosses confirmed that a pilot had reported a laser pen incident during the plane’s descent.
Police later arrested a 16-year-old male and four females aged 16, 17, 19 and 22 who were in two cars in Marine Drive in Drylaw.
All five will appear in court at a later date.
Chief Inspector Mark Rennie said: “The use of laser pens to distract or obscure the vision of a pilot is an extremely serious offence, which can have very serious consequences.
“We regularly patrol roads below approach routes to deter offenders and respond quickly to any notifications from pilots.
“Anyone found committing this offence will be arrested and charged.”
The latest incident has escalated concerns over the problem of laser attacks.
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The British Association of Airline Pilots claims that one in two pilots has been in a plane targeted with lasers in the past 12 months.
According to the CAA, more than 400 laser pen incidents have been reported in the UK in the first six months of this year.
The highest number of incidents are around Heathrow, although in proportion to air traffic, regional airports including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Birmingham have a far higher frequency.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration said the number of incidents had grown steadily since it started collating information on laser attacks in 2005.
More than 3,700 incidents have been reported in the US this year.
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A Californian man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for pointing a laser at a police helicopter.
A British Airways pilot was reportedly left with significant damage to his eyesight after a “military strength” laser was shone into the cockpit of his plane landing at Heathrow.
Lasers are easy to buy on the internet, with one tenement block in Glasgow now known as “laser block” to pilots and police.
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