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When Google Street View captured a sinister image of an armed man standing over an apparently lifeless body on a road, one user lost no time in calling the police to report a murder.

But when officers arrived at the scene of the crime they found the “dead” man alive and well. The apparent murderer and his victim were actually a pair of mechanics who had faked the incident when they saw a Google camera car passing their garage in Leith, Edinburgh.

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Dan Thompson, 56, the boss of Tomson Motor Company, and mechanic Gary Kerr, 31, said that they could not resist the opportunity for “devilment” when they saw the car approach.

“I recognized the Google car coming into the street from the camera tower on the top,” said Mr. Thompson. “We just thought we had to do something.

“This opportunity wasn’t coming around very often so Gary grabbed a pick axe handle and we ran out into the street. We decided really quickly what to do and I lay down while Gary stood over me with a pick axe handle.”