A shocked farmer told how his sheepdog drove on to a busy motorway before crashing the vehicle and making a miracle escape.
Tom Hamilton, 77, was left stunned when his canine helper turned frompassenger to driver on the John Deere Gator he was using to check on his sheep.
Don, a four-year-old male collie, leaned on the controls of the all-terrain vehicle which had been left standing without the brake on and it shot out of the field.
It crashed through a fence and ploughed across one carriageway of the M74 before hitting the central reservation and coming to a halt at 8.15am on Wednesday.
Police raced to the scene near Abington in South Lanarkshire and found motorists had managed to avoid the ATV and Don was unhurt. They cleared the road within half an hour and Don was later reunited with relieved Tom at nearby Kirkton Farm.
Tom said: “I was just checking on my sheep and parked the Gator on the hill. It’s quite a steep hill and I was sorting out one of the lambs and hadn’t put the brake on.
“I ran after it but I couldn’t catch up. I was just hoping Don was going to be allright and that it wouldn’t hit any of thecars on the road.
“I think Don must have been a bit confused by what was happening as it’s never happened before.”
A police spokeswoman added: “Nobody is believed to have been injured.”
Twitter went into meltdown when Traffic Scotland broke the news of the incident. The authority said it was the “weirdest thing” it had ever reported.
#M74 (N) J13 – Reports of an RTC, vehicle has hit the central reservation. Police are en-route & we have no reported delays #BeAware
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) April 22, 2015
#M74 (N) J13-RTC due to dog taking control of tractor… nope, not joking. Farmer&police at scene,vehicle in central res. #maycausetailbacks
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) April 22, 2015
#M74 (N) at J13 – Route is CLEAR from earlier incident & dog is fine. Has to be the weirdest thing we have ever reported! No delays in area
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) April 22, 2015
As these photos show, our four-legged friends are rather at home in a tractor cab.
We'll make it easy. Here's Kiki, Arbikie Distillery dog & her favourite vintage tractor @C_RRooney #AngusandDundee pic.twitter.com/9u16zAihKz
— Arbikie (@arbikie) April 22, 2015
@redcat0827 here you go just your every day dog on a tractor pic.twitter.com/03vONdGhAX
— M Wilson (@Goyofgoy) March 11, 2015
Mitch loves tractor-ing with me #puppy #collie #dog #farm #farmlife pic.twitter.com/gX2VX0eAJn
— RunningInWellies (@FarmerswifeUk) December 3, 2014
#love #life #farm #dog #tractor #my life is Amazing? #love living on a farm? by ionasinclair101 pic.twitter.com/PZ5uqRRVc4
— dogsofinsta (@dogsofinsta) September 27, 2014
I got myself a tractor dog. #Spoiled pic.twitter.com/hqdnRzPZf3
— Chaz Neff (@chazwneff) January 5, 2014