Two vandals have been locked up for putting lives in danger by firing airguns at moving traffic on a motorway.

A judge said it was a matter of chance nobody was seriously injured or killed as a result of the "shocking" actions of Daniel Honey, 20, and 18-year-old Keiron Nolan.

Maidstone Crown Court heard a four-week-old baby had been just 6in away from where a pellet pierced the rear window of a car as it travelled along the M20.

Honey, of The Chestnuts, Addington, was sentenced to three years' youth custody and Nolan, of Church Street, Maidstone, to two years after they admitted conspiracy to damage vehicles and conspiracy to cause criminal damage.

The offences were committed near the junction of the M20 and M26 at Wrotham between August and October last year.

Anthony Prosser, prosecuting, said about 30 vehicles were shot at and the damage totalled £6,240.

Police had received numerous reports of windows being smashed or bodywork being damaged.

Some drivers heard loud bangs followed by shattering glass.

Officers pinpointed the likely firing area as a footpath in woods close to a sand quarry.

A media release was put out seeking help in tracing the culprits and Honey's name was provided.

His home, just half a mile from the area, was searched and an air rifle was found under his mother's bed. A tin of pellets was in the boot of his car.

Both Honey and Nolan were interviewed. They at first claimed they had only been firing at targets including trees and rabbits.

But text messages on Honey's phone showed he was more involved. He then admitted firing at vehicles from the footpath.

They used his air rifle and Nolan's ballbearing gun. It was accepted Nolan shot on only two occasions.

A 16-year-old boy was also arrested, but not charged.

"It is really a matter of chance whether someone is as a result injured or killed..." - Judge Martin Joy

Judge Martin Joy told Honey and Nolan: "The facts of this case are somewhat shocking in that some 30 vehicles driving on a motorway at speed in the late afternoon or early evening were fired at.

"In many cases drivers were understandably shocked. The person being fired on knows not whether it would bring the vehicle off the road or if there would be a collision.

"It is really a matter of chance whether someone is as a result injured or killed. The shock value is extraordinarily high. The risk to life is very high."