Lucky escape as boy, 5, takes family car on four-mile joyride

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy took his family's automatic 4x4 on a four-mile "joyride" yesterday, before crashing it into a wall.

Traffic officers described the incident as "remarkable" and said the boy and other drivers were lucky to have escaped without serious injury.

Several motorists dialled 999 after spotting a Mitsubishi Shogun being driven erratically and slowly by a small boy on roads east of Chichester, West Sussex, just after 7am.

At about the same time, the boy's father called police to say his son had driven off in the family vehicle.

A short while later, the 4x4 hit a wall in Pook Lane, Lavant. Sussex Police believe the boy travelled just over four miles from his home before crashing.

The child, who has not been identified, was taken to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester as a precaution, but appears to have been uninjured and was reunited with his family.

A driver who had been briefly following the Shogun took care of the boy while police and an ambulance were called, a force spokesman said. Police later received reports of three other vehicles, two of which were parked, being damaged by the Shogun, but nobody was injured.

The 4x4 was first seen travelling along a short stretch of the A27 between Tangmere and the junction with the A285, and then up to Halnaker and across country to Lavant. The force spokesman said: "Police believe that the car travelled just over four miles from the address.

"Several witnesses have spoken of it being driven at a slow speed, but erratically."

Officers have met the family to discuss the incident, but no further action will be taken, the spokesman added.

Pc Mark Ryan, of Sussex Police road policing unit, said: "This was a remarkable incident and both the boy and other road users clearly had a lucky escape, as a serious collision could have happened at any stage."

He added: "I believe the boy was crying after he had the accident, because he was a bit shaken, but for a five-year-old he had driven quite well.

"We were first made aware just after 7am when several drivers called saying they had seen a Mitsubishi Shogun being driven by a small boy on roads east of Chichester.

"At almost the same time, a distressed local man reported he had woken up and believed that his five-year-old son had driven off a short while beforehand in their car, which is an automatic."

He added: "The boy was taken to St Richard's Hospital purely as a precaution, but appears to have been uninjured and was not detained there.

"He was quickly reunited with his family."