Student Claire Guthrie spoke today of her terror when her car was attacked by a man wielding an axe outside McCall's store in Kingsclere Road, Bicester.

Claire, 19, was sitting at the wheel of her Ford Escort car with four friends. They were talking through a car window with a group of friends outside.

Pc Philip Gurton

She said: "This man came up from the other side of the car and hit the windscreen with what I realised was an axe when I saw the blade. The windscreen shattered but I think it saved me from being killed.

"The man went round the car smashing all the windows and the front lights and then hitting the bodywork. We all just managed to get out and we all scattered, running off in different directions."

Claire, a student of agriculture who lives in Bicester, went to a nearby house where she knew the householders. They called the police.

She said: "We ran for our lives. It was a very terrifying and frightening experience. He was shouting something when he began the attack but I did not hear what he said."

She believed her G-reg car might be a write-off or hardly worth repairing.

She bought it on the Thursday before the attack, which happened just after midnight on Sunday.

Pc Philip Gurton is leading the investigation. He said: "The man followed them over the playing field but disappeared."

Claire's father, Clive Guthrie, said children found the axe the following morning in the playing field.

The man was described as being white, aged about 30, of medium built with dark hair and thick, dark eyebrows. Anyone with information should contact Pc Gurton on 01869 364520.

**Picture: Richard Cave