The mystery vegetables used to repeatedly pelt cars on a dual carriageway in Devon have been identified as mangelwurzles - from a huge pile left stored by the roadside, writes Tom Bevan.

The giant mountain of the root beets has been found next to the A380 where a vandal dubbed the 'veg lobber' has already struck 17 times.

The attacks began in November but efforts to catch the offender stepped up when a police armed response vehicle on its way to an incident had its windscreen smashed.

Police initially thought the cause of the damage was a flying swede.

But it has now been revealed the source for the damage is an ever-growing mountain of animal feed next to the scene of the crimes.

The giant pile of hundreds of tonnes of beets is on Stantor Lane, which runs alongside the A380 Hellevoetsluis Way in Torquay, Devon.

It is understood that police have now met and spoken with the farmer - but been told the pile has been there for decades and is expected to grow even higher.

Further evidence of the phantom veg lobber was also seen on the central reservation on the A380 where dozens of the beets have landed.

One local resident said: "They are not swede they are fodder beets. There's nothing that can be done about it. The crop's not all in yet.

"There will be more added to the pile. The beets have been stacked there for 20 years. Why should the farmer have to change what he does because of some vandals stealing his crops?"

The vegetables were initially described as turnips and swedes but they have now been confirmed as mangelwurzel - which are fodder beets grown by farmers as a cash crop and sold off to feed animals during harsh winters.

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This year the pile has grown and grown because of the milder weather. Locals say the whole beet crop has still not been harvested.

Police say they are investigating more than a dozen incidents of large root vegetables being thrown at moving vehicles.

Authorities say there have been 17 recorded incidents on the A380 between Newton Abbot and Torquay since November last year.

Last month, a motorist was driving home when a swede smashed into the side of his silver Range Rover.

The incident left Steve Anderson in complete shock and within minutes police arrived to search the scene, believing the vegetable to have been deliberately launched at the car.

It also happened on the busy A380, this time near the Penn Inn flyover in the Milber area.

In a third incident, another motorist said a suspected turnip had been chucked from a bridge over the A380 damaging the car.

In the latest incident on Sunday night, the beet was thrown from the side of the road and hit the patrol car responding to an emergency.

Another officer said those inside were "fine, but very annoyed", were unable to attend the incident they had been called out to, and sustained £500 worth of damages to their vehicle.

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The vehicle was on its way to another call and the damage to the windscreen is estimated at £500.

"Officers are continuing their enquiries and are asking for anyone with information to contact police quoting crime reference number CR/005459/20."