A DOPEY driver accidently drove their car through a car park barrier and ended up stuck on the banks of an iconic Scottish loch.
The hapless motorist somehow managed to drive the Citroen C3 onto the rocky area of Loch Duich at Eilean Donan Castle near Dornie on Saturday morning – when luckily the tide was out.
An image shows the white motor beached on the banks in the stones with the front right wheel just touching the water.
Three people are shown surrounding the vehicle looking puzzled while appearing to try and figure out how to get out of the sticky situation.
The car is believed to have been a rental vehicle while onlookers have speculated that the driver may have hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.
A recovery truck was quickly called to rescue the vehicle.
Stuart Thorpe, who captured the photograph, shared it on Facebook later on that day while warning visitors to be careful while visiting Scotland.
He said: “Please be careful when you’re driving the roads and using car parks in the Highlands.
“This is an expensive mistake for these poor tourists in a hire car.
“I can only assume she accidentally used the accelerator and not the brake but luckily no one was harmed, it could have been worse if anyone was walking along the bank.
“Familiarise yourself with a manual car if you don’t drive one regularly.
“I took this picture this morning at Eilean Donan Castle.”
The post attracted over 200 laughing and shocked face emoji icons and more than 100 comments from shocked viewers.
One said: “Oh heck, I hope that wasn’t the ones asking how to get as close to the water as possible.”
Another wrote: “Free parking, guys not daft.”
A third commented: “Coming to an Arnold Clark forecourt near you soon, one careful owner.”
Another person added: “That’s what happens when you buy a drivers licence off eBay.”
While a fifth social media user said: “I can never understand how someone can accidentally press on the accelerator and not the brake pedal, shouldn’t have a licence.”
Speaking today, Stuart said: “I’m a part time coach driver and was parked up, I’m at the castle quite often and the car park attendants know me.
“I was parked up myself and slightly out of the coach bay when the attendant came up to me and had a joke about the way I was parked.
“He then told me to follow him to see some great parking.
“He told me it had happened just before I arrived, the female driver drove through a plastic chain barrier and over the edge.
“The occupants were out of the vehicle and quite a crowd gathered taking photos.
“I’m an ex car hire manager and this was an Arnold Clark rental vehicle.
“I can only assume that they hit the wrong pedal.
“When I was standing another attendant was with the couple making sure they were not in shock and walking them back to the main building.
“He had also radioed to have a recovery truck come out to get the car.
“Luckily, it looked like the tide was on the way out rather than coming in.
“I had to go before the recovery truck arrived but it would have come from nearby, maybe Kyle a few miles away.”
Scottish beauty spots have seen drivers get caught out on more than one occasion over this summer as two cars were beached and needed rescued by kind hearted local farmers.
