Tweet
From the London Times
Boy, 10, drove 50 miles to see his grandpa
By Simon Freeman and agencies
A boy aged ten and his six-year-old brother were pulled over by police as they drove to visit their grandfather's house 75 miles away.
Officers were alerted after motorists reported that the station wagon driven by the 10-year-old was reaching speeds of up to 60mph on the Outback road between Australia's New South Wales and Queensland states.
They had covered just over 50 miles of the route before police caught up and signalled for them to pull over. On seeing the flashing blue lights, the young driver indicated and smoothly pulled to the side of the road.
Sergeant Matt Clifford told the newspaper website smh.com.au that the boys appeared bewildered by the panic that their actions had caused.
They explained that they had been staying with their grandmother in the tourist town of Moree. The elder of the two boys said that she had left the keys in the ignition of her red Holden Commodore, so they decided to visit their grandfather in Boggabilla in northern New South Wales.
Sgt Clifford said: "They appeared to be driving normally ... certainly better than some other people on that road. They acted quite normally, they didn't indicate that they felt they were doing anything wrong.
"They explained what they were up to, and why they were coming down to see their family. They weren't upset or crying or anything like that."
The duo were taken to the town's police station and their grandfather was contacted. "He was shocked himself," said the police sergeant. "He had no explanation as to how they could have driven that far."
The ten-year-old was given a police warning. He little brother is too young to face any official penalty.
"I'm sure granddad and grandma, if not mum and dad, might have their own little chastisement," Sgt Clifford added.
Officers are now trying to establish how the child managed to operate the automatic's drive pedal and peer over the dashboard for such a distance without incident: "He wasn't an overly tall kid," Sgt Clifford said.
Australia's tourism website offers few clues to the boys' desire to reach Boggabilla which, it says, has: "little to detain the passer-by, although there is a motel, a caravan park and the Wobbly Boot Hotel."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...222087,00.html
Boy, 10, drove 50 miles to see his grandpa
By Simon Freeman and agencies
A boy aged ten and his six-year-old brother were pulled over by police as they drove to visit their grandfather's house 75 miles away.
Officers were alerted after motorists reported that the station wagon driven by the 10-year-old was reaching speeds of up to 60mph on the Outback road between Australia's New South Wales and Queensland states.
They had covered just over 50 miles of the route before police caught up and signalled for them to pull over. On seeing the flashing blue lights, the young driver indicated and smoothly pulled to the side of the road.
Sergeant Matt Clifford told the newspaper website smh.com.au that the boys appeared bewildered by the panic that their actions had caused.
They explained that they had been staying with their grandmother in the tourist town of Moree. The elder of the two boys said that she had left the keys in the ignition of her red Holden Commodore, so they decided to visit their grandfather in Boggabilla in northern New South Wales.
Sgt Clifford said: "They appeared to be driving normally ... certainly better than some other people on that road. They acted quite normally, they didn't indicate that they felt they were doing anything wrong.
"They explained what they were up to, and why they were coming down to see their family. They weren't upset or crying or anything like that."
The duo were taken to the town's police station and their grandfather was contacted. "He was shocked himself," said the police sergeant. "He had no explanation as to how they could have driven that far."
The ten-year-old was given a police warning. He little brother is too young to face any official penalty.
"I'm sure granddad and grandma, if not mum and dad, might have their own little chastisement," Sgt Clifford added.
Officers are now trying to establish how the child managed to operate the automatic's drive pedal and peer over the dashboard for such a distance without incident: "He wasn't an overly tall kid," Sgt Clifford said.
Australia's tourism website offers few clues to the boys' desire to reach Boggabilla which, it says, has: "little to detain the passer-by, although there is a motel, a caravan park and the Wobbly Boot Hotel."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...222087,00.html
Comment