Rover has a drink

We spotted this car bobbing about in the sea when we were about half way round the first ever Bounds of The Downs, mid-winter 2009. When the coastguard found there was nobody (or no body) inside, they lost interest. I would have thought they would be concerned about the hazard to small boats...

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Mystery surrounds how this silver Rover ended up taking a dip in the sea. It made a splash with 15 hikers who spotted it while taking a Sunday morning stroll. One witness said:

"I've heard of a car wash but this was ridiculous. It will end up a costly mistake for someone."

Initially it was believed the car had been left on the beach below the Downs at Herne Bay near Reculver Drive by its owner who failed to retrieve it before the tide came in. But police spokesman Jane Walker said:

"When we called the owner she said she had parked it in the town and thinks it was stolen and dumped on the beach."

The owner is footing the bill to get the car fished out of the sea. The alarm was raised by Phil Rose of Beacon Hill who called the coastguard at 10.50am on Sunday. He said:

"We had been walking and came across the car bobbing about in the sea and slowly drifting to the east. The Whitstable lifeboat arrived 15 minutes later."

Thames Coastguard spokesman Walter Holliday said:

"When the lifeboat arrived all the crew could see was the car's aerial sticking out of the water. Their first priority was to check there was no one trapped inside. Fortunately it was empty."

After reporting the precise position of the car to coastguards the lifeboat crew returned to base at Whitstable Harbour. It was their 74th call of the year.

HB Times 2009-12-22