5-year-old takes mum's 4x4 on joyride

A 5-year-old boy took his mother's 4x4 Mitsubishi Shogun on a four-mile joyride in Tangmere, West Sussex yesterday.

Thomas Chatfield went on a journey which included a dual carriageway after taking the keys from his mother Jessica's handbag while she slept, the The Mirror reports.

Neighbour Nathan Parkinson, 22, said: "I was walking down the road and saw this Shogun. I heard a woman shouting behind me that a little boy was driving. I could just see a pair of tiny eyes above the dashboard.

"He must have been standing up to reach the pedals. A friend of mine was driving past in his van and had to swerve out of his way... He jumped out of the van and tried to get into the Shogun, but every time it stopped it would then accelerate again."

A police spokesman said: "Several witnesses spoke of it being driven at a slow speed but erratically. The boy was crying afterwards because he was a bit shaken.

"But for a 5-year-old he had actually driven quite well. It's a bizarre case and we're not taking action against anyone."

PC Mark Ryan said: "The boy and other road users had a lucky escape because a serious collision could have happened at any stage."