The Weird World of Wheels

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27 July 2007

Each week, we'll be bringing you the strangest motoring news from around the world.

Don't forget to come back every Friday for your new helping.

Got any stories, pictures or videos you think we should feature in the Weird World of Wheels? Send them to us at editorial@autotrader.co.uk.

This week:

Engine purr

A light purring coming from your engine means everything is running smoothly.

Or there's a cat in it.

Victor Gallacher was driving across his native Aberdeen when he heard a loud noise come from the engine. He stopped his Rover 400 and lifted the bonnet to investigate.

Instead of the expected damage, Mr Gallacher found an eight-week-old ginger kitten.

Mr Gallacher, 61, said: "It was terrified, so I grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and put it in an empty box I had and sat it in the front seat with me. It did not seem to be hurt."

The kitten was taken to the Scottish SPCA for a check-up.

SPCA ambulance driver Marion Lamont said: "He was very shaken but unhurt - he was a bit oily on his face, ears and chin. He was a very, very lucky kitten."

The stowaway mog is now in a home for strays.

Follow that pensioner

Traffic cops face all manner of dangers. Speeding motorists, hard shoulder hazards, debris on the road.

You wouldn't think pensioners in mobility scooters would be much of a problem.

Try telling that to the cops in Middlesbrough, who came across a man driving his scooter down the fast lane of the A1032 at 8mph.

The officers pulled alongside the rogue OAP, protecting him from oncoming traffic, before he drove onto a roundabout and gave them the slip.

With the help of the public the boys in blue eventually found the scooter rider again, persuaded him to pull over and took him out of harm's way.

Onlooker Ian Hardy said: "They asked us, 'Excuse me - have you seen a bloke on an electric scooter?' I bet they'll be the toast of the nick."

I'm a survivor

Car accidents involving cliff plunges usually end one way. And it's not a good way.

To come out of one complaining only of a sore back is uncommon.

But that's exactly what happened to one driver in Cornwall this week, who fell 100 feet over a cliff in a Mazda saloon.

The alarm was raised after amazed golfers saw the car travel across the golf course towards the cliff.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall police said: "The car was very smashed up but amazingly the man was conscious, and just complaining of a painful back."

Weird Pic of the Week: Stick shift