Officers get more than they baa-gain for when they stop a driver with a sheep in his car near Leeming Bar services, who tells them he’s taking it out for dinner

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Police stopped a motorist in Yorkshire on suspicion of driving with two bald tyres only to find there was a sheep riding in the boot of his car.

When questioned about why the sheep was in the car, the driver said he was taking it to McDonald’s for a takeaway.

North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group posted a picture of the car on Twitter, complete with the unexpected animal in the passenger seat, with the caption: “Ewe have got to be kidding!!!”



NorthYorksPolice RPG (@NYorksRPG) Ewe have got to be kidding!!! Officers have just stopped this car which has 2 bald tyres and a sheep in the boot pic.twitter.com/J7yM7wsDaS

The Peugeot 206 was stopped near Leeming Bar services on the A1 in North Yorkshire on Wednesday night.

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A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire police who spoke to the Northern Echo said the driver “told the officer that ‘some people take their dogs in their cars, I take my sheep’.”

“He just wanted to go for a drive-through at McDonald’s.”

It is believed the driver with the unlikely passenger was pulled over shortly after a visit to the service station.

Police said local press and social media had got excited over the sheepish tale, using the hashtag #sheepinacar.

A spokesman told the Guardian the officer who had posted the image had dealt with the incident at the scene.

He added: “We have no other information apart from what the officer tweeted. Although we might equip our officers with better high-definition cameras.”