Car stunts take everyone for a ride

Members of a local club have proved they are more about pranks than polish after undertaking a series of increasingly bizarre challenges.

Members of the Edinburgh Cruise club have been challenging each other to take photographs of their cars in a variety of different scenarios, snapping everything from a car parked in the sea to one having a body kit made out of cardboard.

One task even challenged drivers to take a picture of themselves in front of their car in their underwear – and two cheeky petrolheads went one further by posing in front of a high performance police car.

Other pictures show a car wrapped in toilet paper.

While most were harmless fun, police have warned some of the scenarios may have been dangerous. One photograph shows a car leaving the road with all four wheels off the ground, while others show cars driving down public steps outside Loch Fyne restaurant on Pier Place, backing into the sea at Newhaven Harbour and parked on a golf course.

Inspector John Beresford, of Lothian and Borders Police Road Policing Branch, said: "I wouldn't advise anyone to drive without their wheels on the ground.

"While it doesn't require a huge amount of speed to cause your car to leave the road you don't have any steering or braking control.

"In addition to that it is, strictly speaking, an offence to drive anywhere other than a road under the terms of the Road Traffic Act.

"However, at the time of night that these photos look to have been taken there would have been very few people around, which would have had a big impact on the way these drivers would have been handled if caught.

"We would have taken more serious action if they had been driving down the steps of the National Galleries on a Friday afternoon."

Edinburgh Cruise member Billy Denholm, 34, confirmed that the game has now been brought to an end. He added: "Edinburgh Cruise is club for car enthusiasts and part of that is about showing off our cars. I didn't take part in this particular competition but I've seen the posts.

"We're often branded as boy-racers but this is not the case. For example, I'm a mature business owner and the only competition between us takes place on the Knockhill Racing Circuit or at car shows."

Inspector Beresford said police enjoyed a good relationship with Edinburgh Cruise through their Police Liaison Officer, who regularly contributes to their forum with advice about car modifications and road safety advice.

He added: "Their forum is a big website so it's difficult to keep an eye on the whole site, but they're very good at self-policing and anything that steps over the mark is generally removed by the moderators.

"If we had seen these photographs before now, I'm sure we would have given them the appropriate advice."