A terrified mother has told how she was sprayed in the face with red paint during a road rage incident while her frightened young children watched, screaming in horror.
Kirstie Robb thought she was being subjected to an acid attack after the row with the motorist in East Wretham, near Thetford.
As her children screamed hysterically for help, the 37-year-old from Watton said: 'At first I thought it was blood. I assumed I was in shock and that it was an acid attack.'
Ms Robb was driving a Ford S-Max on the on the A1075 towards Watton behind a Ford Transit van and a Vauxhall Corsa when the Corsa reportedly slammed on the brakes while going into a lay-by, forcing Ms Robb and the van driver to do emergency stops.
The van drove off and Ms Robb told how she accidentally sounded the horn while braking heavily, before getting out of the car to see if the Corsa driver needed help.
'The van had screeched off and I thought there had been an accident,' she said.
But when she approached the vehicle, he appeared to be gesticulating by making a clapping gesture.
'At that point I'd gone from being concerned to fuming, because my children were at risk,' she said.
'I lost my temper. He was telling me to f-off and I didn't respond well to that.'
The pair got into a heated argument while the Corsa motorist remained in the car and Ms Robb stood by the driver's door.
The Corsa driver was reportedly swearing and kept putting his hand up to Ms Robb's face.
'His hand then came up again and I felt all this stuff being sprayed,' she said.
'I could hear my children screaming hysterically. My seven-year-old boy was frightened for his mum. I couldn't see and I couldn't breathe for a second.
'To be honest, I thought it was an acid attack. I was waiting for the pain to hit. There was red everywhere.
'I went from angry to shocked and in tears in seconds. It was horrific. Normal human beings do not behave like that.'
The incident at about 5.50pm on Wednesday, October 11, when Ms Robb was driving home from Thetford has had a long-lasting effect on her seven-year-old son, she said.
Her 20-month-old daughter and 16-year-old son were also in the car and saw the incident.
Ms Robb said in future she would not be drawn into arguments with motorists.
'I would certainly implore other women and men not to engage,' she said.
'It could easily have been something a lot worse.'
The Corsa driver is described as being aged in his late 20s to early 30s and was wearing dark clothes, with short, dark brown hair and a dark brown goatee beard.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or anyone with information, should contact PC Ian Hinchcliffe at Thetford Police Station on 101.
Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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