Couple lost for 15 hours on short trip to Thirsk caravan dealer
- Published
North Yorkshire Police said the couple had driven around for about 15 hours
An elderly couple spent 15 hours driving around after getting lost on a trip from their home in Knaresborough to a caravan dealer in nearby Thirsk.
North Yorkshire Police said they were called to reports of a car, said to be "all over the road", travelling at 20-25mph on the A168 at about 04:40 BST.
Officers stopped the car and found the "lost and confused" couple, aged 96 and 90, inside.
They told police they had set off from their home on Sunday afternoon.
The 20-mile journey to the dealer, where they had apparently been many times before, should have taken about 40 minutes.
But instead, they had seemingly been driving around lost, and never did arrive at their destination, police said.
'World's slowest pursuit'
Officers confirmed the couple had not been anywhere else or to visit anyone, and were going to the dealer with a view to buying a caravan.
"They'd just been trying to get home but were lost & confused...nearly 15 hours after setting off," the force posted on Facebook.
It said officers had followed the vehicle after receiving calls about a suspected drink-driving incident.
The couple stopped at a junction in Norton-Le-Clay, as if to check directions, before being seen driving along a verge.
The vehicle was pulled over at a roundabout close to the Roecliffe industrial estate, before what police said "could've turned into the world's slowest pursuit",
"Obviously, we took them home... and strongly advised him to stop driving for his and everyone else's safety."
"This driver was nearly 15 hours into a 40-minute journey. The ending could have been much worse," a spokesperson for the force said.
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.