THIS is the moment a Darlington councillor's home was targeted in a ‘terrifying' late night attack.

Darlington Borough Council’s health and housing cabinet member Kevin Nicholson said the vandal ran into the front garden of his home in Firth Moor at about 1am today and threw a stone at his lounge window.

The Northern Echo:

The impact shattered large amounts of glass across a sofa where his young nephew had been laid just two hours earlier.

He said the crash was so loud it awoke several of his neighbours and within a few minutes of the attack police attended the scene with armed officers to hunt for the perpetrator.

Cllr Nicholson said he believed the incident was an attempt to intimidate him due to the success of an ongoing crackdown on illegal off-road bikes, which many councillors rank as among the most menaces facing the borough.

He said he had recently been threatened over the issue and would not be put off by the attack.

Cllr Nicholson said: “I don’t want this to deter people from reporting off-road bike incidents. We are making progress. I get hundreds of emails and phone calls on this issue and I am determined to see it reduced.”