Oliver Willment-Coster was left strapped into the passenger seat of the family car while his father, Jeffrey went into a shop to buy his son a Milky Bar.

While Mr Coster was in the shop, three year old Oliver managed to take the car out of gear, release the handbrake and steer 15 yards down the road. His trip was brought an abrupt halt when the white Proton crashed into a parked police car. Police hurried to the scene and were astounded to see the three year old in the passenger seat.

Mr Coster became aware of the incident only when a police officer entered the shop and asked: 'Does anyone have a white car?'

The 54-year-old lorry driver ran from the store in Bournemouth, Dorset, and found his son unharmed and sitting in the passenger seat with the belt still around him.

Unperturbed by the excitement around him, Oliver first question was: "Have you got my Milky Bar?" Mr Coster said he would never leave his son in the car again. "It is what thousands of parents do every day. I never thought he would be able to take the handbrake off."

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