Dog ‘driving’ tractor causes traffic chaos

A sheepdog brought rush hour traffic to a standstill after inadvertently taking control of a tractor.

Traffic Scotland said commuters faced delays on Wednesday morning (22 April) after the dog drove the tractor into a central reservation on the M74 at Abingdon, South Lanarkshire.

Commuters were told the northbound section of the carriageway had been blocked at after the accident at about 8.35am while police and the farmer tried to resolve the situation.

On its Twitter account, Traffic Scotland tweeted: “#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 later tweeted at 8.48am on Monday that the route had been cleared and the dog was fine.

“Has to to be the weirdest thing we have ever reported! No delays in area,” it said.

It later emerged that a Collie, called Don, owned by farmer Tom Hamilton, had leant on controls of the Gator utility vehicle, taking it on to the road.

Mr Hamilton told BBC Scotland he had been checking lambs in a field when he saw the vehicle crash through a fence and head down an embankment. No-one was hurt in the incident.