Three reserve Police officers escaped without injury last night when an unidentified youth hurled a petrol bomb at their unmarked Police van near Paget Primary School on Ord Road.

Part of the windscreen on the left hand side of the vehicle was damaged, although it was not severe.

Officers swarmed the area looking for the culprit around 9.30 p.m. but no arrests were made.

A heavy stench of petrol, as well as broken glass and burst grapefruits were scattered about the street.

Officers also found flares, several more empty bottles and a jug of petrol on a wall near the southern side of the road.

Scenes of Crime officers and members of the Criminal Investigations department were called to the school and they immediately scoured the area looking for a youth wearing a hood, a scarf over his face and red pants.

An annoyed Police Commissioner Colin Coxall who arrived on the scene soon afterward said:"Someone threw a flaming firebomb at the truck. If it had gone through those officers would have been incinerated and that would have been some terrible news.

"I am extremely angry that this has happened, but the CID officers will conduct a very thorough investigation into the matter.'' This incident followed closely on the heels of a prior encounter twenty minutes earlier.

A Police patrol travelling on Ord Road near Tribe Road Number Five and Sylvan Dell were pelted with grapefruit as they passed Paget Primary School.

They stopped the vehicle and chased several teenage youths to the rear of the school before losing sight of them in the trees.

Further up the road near Ord Road Grocery Store the officers were faced with a crowd of nearly young people who had gathered on Tribe Road Number Five.

Police Press officer Evelyn James Barnett said that Police received a steady stream of reports last night.

The first came in around 5.30 p.m. she said and most of the early reports were concentrated in the eastern parishes.

As the night wore on, however, the reports spread throughout the Island and escalated after 8.00 p.m.

"There was a noticeable decrease in the numbers of masked youths on the street,'' Mrs. James Barnett said. "We would assume that is in response to the announced crackdown on such activity which has been used as a guise to commit criminal acts.'' Mrs. James Barnett said that there were several reports of flares being thrown in addition to eggs, bottles, firecrackers, rocks and Molotov cocktails.

As a consequence, she said Police intended to maintain heightened patrols through the weekend.