Space hopper man caught on dual carriageway

5 January 2015

Police pulled over a man riding a space hopper through a Dundee underpass in the early hours of New Year's Day.

The man was seen trying to bounce his way through the dual carriageway Marketgait underpass, which has no pedestrian footpath, at about 03:00.

One witness said the man "looked very drunk" as he was chased down the tunnel by officers.

Police Scotland confirmed that the man had been spoken to, but no formal action was taken.

Witness Jamie Shankland told BBC Scotland's Newsdrive programme it was a surreal sight.

He said: "It was like a scene from the movie The Hangover."

'Sheepish look'

Mr Shankland said he stopped his car because a police car was blocking the lane and there was a "commotion".

"As I pulled out past the police car I noticed there was a big red balloon on the road," he said.

"It wasn't until I passed and saw the two horns on top of it that I noticed it was a space hopper.

"I can only assume that the gentleman was space hoppering for some time because there is no path there."

Mr Shankland said the man was being questioned by police when he saw him.

"You could tell from the sheepish look on his face that he knew he was doing something wrong but he did not know what it was," he said.

"He looked very drunk to be honest."

Mr Shankland added: "He was coming towards the oncoming cars, he wasn't bouncing away from them, so it could have been a worse story to tell."