FIVE schoolgirls were subjected to a terrifying carjacking gun ordeal after a gang smashed their way into their car.

The teenagers, pupils at a fee-paying all-girls school in Glasgow's South Side were sitting in a new-style Mini when the gang, one of whom was carrying a gun, struck.

The attack in Dalziel Drive, near Craigholme School, happened during the lunch break when the girls, all 17, were sitting chatting.

The gang, understood to be Asian, smashed a window with a handgun and tried to steal the vehicle yesterday.

The quick-thinking youngsters managed to drive off and called police immediately.

It is the latest in a series of carjacking incidents in the South Side.

A full scale search was launched for the gang and a police helicopter was seen circling the area around the school during the afternoon.

The gang of three men approached the vehicle around 1.30pm.

One of them smashed the driver's window and tried to grab the keys.

The teenagers were parked close to the school overlooking Maxwell Park which is surrounded by luxury properties costing up to a million pounds which have high value 4x4s and sports cars parked outside.

The driver, who is a senior in her last year at the school, was understood to be sitting in her car with pals before taking them on to the nearby sports ground.

Today parents dropping children off at school were horrified by the incident.

One parent said: "My daughter told me what happened when she came home last night and I could tell she was shocked and upset by it.

"I can't believe that something like this could happen to a young girl sitting in a car so close to a school.

"I will be speaking to teachers about it today."

Another parent said: "I learned about it last night and haven't had a chance to speak to the school yet. I've heard that the window was smashed and that the men had a gun. It is just beyond belief."

A police spokesman said investigations were continuing in a bid to track down the gang.

He said: "Three men approached five teenage girls while they were sitting in a car in Dalziel Drive.

"One of the men was in possession of what appeared to be a handgun and used it to smash the window of the vehicle.

"The weapon was not discharged and no one was injured. Our inquiries are continuing."

In November 2005, two women were shot at by carjackers who made off with the owner's convertible after the women got out of the vehicle in Fotheringay Road near Maxwell Park railway station in Pollokshields.

The previous month a Porsche worth £50,000 was stolen from the same area.

The first carjacking case in Glasgow was in February 2002 when a 68-year-old woman had her Honda Civic stolen in Yoker.