A Portland mum feared her baby son could be blinded and burned by grit flying in through their car window.

Clare Middleton was travelling along Portland Beach Road, which is currently being resurfaced, with her eight-month-old son Henry when the terrifying ordeal happened.

Grit and tar sprayed from a truck flew in through the car’s open windows, sticking to Henry’s face and hitting his eyes.

Miss Middleton, 28, had no choice but to carry on driving in the heavy traffic while her son screamed in pain.

She said: “It was really stressful. I was really scared for him but I couldn’t comfort him because I was driving. When I finally stopped all I wanted to do was comfort him and he wouldn’t stop crying.

“I wondered if I should take him to hospital or phone for a paramedic. But I thought there’s no way I was going to get back into that traffic and if he was seriously hurt it was going to make things worse.

“I was just hoping there was no damage to his eyes.”

They had been travelling back to Portland at around 6.30pm on Tuesday and as it was a hot day, all the car windows were open.

Miss Middleton, of Easton Square, Tophill, said: “One of the big trucks laying Tarmac was spraying out chippings and tar. It shot through our windows and I got covered in it.

“Then my son started screaming so I turned around and he had chippings stuck all over his face and in his eyes.

“I managed to get most of them off his face but when I tried to open his eyes he wouldn’t let me.”

In the 10 minutes it took a paramedic car and ambulance to reach them, Henry had been crying so much he had managed to wash most of the chippings out of his eyes.

“He was more terrified than injured,” said Miss Middleton. “But it could have done some serious damage to him – he was very lucky.

Miss Middleton is now calling on the Dorset County Council to put up signs warning motorists of flying debris. She said: “The council hasn’t done anything to warn people we should shut our windows.

“I agree the resurfacing needs to be done but it was still rush hour so I think they should start a bit later in the evening.”

A Dorset County Council spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about this incident and would be happy to speak to the lady concerned to identify the source of the grit and apologise.

“The operation is by its nature very dusty and the wind can blow the dust around. Unfortunately, there is little we can do to prevent similar incidents other than urge common sense when travelling through the works site.

“The works are starting at 6pm to make best use of the natural light and by which time most of the heavy traffic has started to die down.”