Sat nav system leads driver to sand

An 80-year-old German driver ended up in a pile of sand after following instructions from his new car's satellite navigation system.

Volker Heinmann ignored the diversion signs on the busy A24 near Hamburg when all the other motorists on the road were turning off.

He said: "I thought the navigation system knew a shortcut and it seemed to be a good one, there was no other traffic on the road, so I sped up - and hit a pile of sand in the middle of the road."

The sand had been put on the road by construction workers who were upgrading the section of motorway near Reinbek, Germany.

Police spokesman Jan Kalisch said: "We had a call from the elderly man and found him half a mile along the closed section of road standing with his wife beside the car, that was wedged firmly in the sand. Both were unhurt, but the car had to be towed to a garage."