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A confused gran was taken in by a kind couple after ­accidentally driving 300 miles from ­England to Lanarkshire when she missed a turn-off.

Valerie Johnson’s adventure ended when she ran out of fuel in Larkhall after an adventure ­lasting eight hours on some of Britain’s busiest motorways.

It began when the 83-year-old got mixed up on the way to her home in Peopleton, a village near Worcester, from an appointment at the city’s royal hospital, a six-mile journey that should take 10 minutes.

She was caught up in a diversion caused by ­roadworks and kept on ­heading north on the M5 and the M6 in her red Toyota Aygo.

Police launched a search for the 83-year-old after her worried family reported her missing.

Her daughter, Karen Maskell, was astonished when officers told her Valerie had been taken in by a ­worried couple in Larkhall when she ran out of fuel at 12.40am on May 5.

Valerie stayed the night with the family while Karen booked a flight to collect her mum.

Karen, 49, said: “Mum’s next-door neighbour called me to say she hadn’t come back and he was worried. I thought she must have had an ­accident.

“We called the police and by the time I got to her house, they said they had spotted her car on a traffic ­camera at Preston at 11pm.

“I said it couldn’t be my mum because she hates driving, she doesn’t usually drive more than three miles.

“But it was her and she was still heading north and we had to get the Scottish police involved.”

Police Scotland then received a call from Valerie’s rescuers, who spotted her car had come to a standstill in the road outside their house.

Karen added: “The family had gone out to investigate and helped push the car to the side of the road.

“The police went round and it was my mum. She had lost all sense of time. I don’t think she had realised she was in Scotland until they told her.

“I caught the first flight the next morning and police met me at the airport.”

Valerie is diabetic but was in good shape.

Sergeant John McLeish at Larkhall police office said: “A local couple assisted ­Valerie and she informed them that she was lost.

“The couple called the police at Larkhall who ­contacted West ­Mercia Police to inform her family.

“Local officers called an ambulance to ensure she did not require any medical attention.

“The local couple very kindly looked after the woman, ensuring that she was comfortable until her relatives arrived from England to collect her.”