A FAMILY were terrified when they found themselves being threatened by a man with a hammer in a shopping centre car park in Trowbridge in an incident of road rage.

They have now taken to social media to thank the people around them during the scary ordeal.

Police officers received a call last Sunday (December 22) afternoon after a man stopped his car in the Spitfire Retail car park, got out his vehicle and threatened Daniel Paradise and his baby.

On social media, Mr Paradise posted: "Thank you to the people who stopped and helped and asked if me and my baby were okay at Trowbridge retail park after a man got a hammer out of his boot and threatened me with it. If people didn't step in the situation could have been much worse. Some sick people about. He shot off as quick as he could once I started recording him.

"It was a pretty surreal situation. Once I saw the hammer I lost it, I shouldn't have stood in front of him but he threatened my family with a weapon, it was crazy."

A police spokesman said: "We got a call from a member of the public reporting that a vehicle had stopped in the Spitfire Retail Park and a man had got out of a car and threatened the caller with a hammer.

"No assault took place and there was no damage to vehicles. The suspect then drove off.

"Incidents like this are not common, it looks like it could have been an incident of road rage.

"As the victim has not made a formal complaint, we cannot progress an investigation at this stage.

"Our advice to anyone being faced with a situation like this is to try and remove themselves from the situation and call 999."