A self-driving van that appeared completely unmanned has been revealed as under the control of a driver hiding dressed as a car seat following a chase with journalists.

The Ford Transit was spotted on the streets of Arlington, Virginia, driving around the town with no visible driver. Although the state had authorised the testing of autonomous cars locals had not expected to see one, let alone a completely unmanned vehicle.

The van was seen driving over the weekend and was hunted down by local journalists. Unlike most self-driving vehicles, it appeared to have no Lidar array for tracking its surrounding, which have been seen on test cars from Uber or Waymo, two of the leaders in autonomous vehicles.

Any tests of self-driving vehicles are normally accompanied by a human driver, who sits in the driver's seat to control the car if it strays off course.