ITALY: An advert appeared in the lonely hearts column of a Consenza newspaper reading: "Farmer seeks companion with her own tractor. Please send picture of tractor."

USA: A Florida thief stole a metal box from a car believing it contained cash, and blew it up. It actually held 11 pounds of gun-powder, and destroyed his house.

HOLLAND: A courting couple were pulled from an Amsterdam canal - after mistakenly releasing the handbrake as they kissed on the back seat of their car.

GREECE: Hero driver Marcos Georgio turned his packed bus into an ambulance, speeding through Athens after a passenger had a heart attack on board. The man's life was saved.

EIRE: Twin brothers Patrick and Steven Leary from Dublin passed their driving test on the same day after taking an identical number of lessons.

ITALY: A groom driving his bride was so distracted by a boot tied to the car that he crashed. The pair's honeymoon was spent in hospital - but the guilty pranksters bought them another holiday.

HUNGARY: A bus full of 'tourists' tried to smuggle a cache of woollen jumpers across the German border by wearing 14 each. But guards arrested the bulky travellers.

SPAIN: An Alicante priest had a miracle escape when a large church bell fell from its mount and crashed into his parked car only moments after he had climbed out of it.

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Italy: A thief in Turin stole an Alfa Romeo and drove for two miles before noticing Maria Monte, 81, sitting in the back. The crook took her purse - but gave her money to catch the bus home.

Australia: Bike cop Robert Maze broke his wrist and ankle when he smashed into a squad car during a safety demonstration in Geelong. "I don't think my audience was impressed," he said.

USA: Texan Brandon Harper clung to the rear of a truck after his father drove it off not knowing the five-year-old was there. He was flagged down by a lorry driver several miles later. The child was unhurt.

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Belgium: Antwerp cops finally caught Eric Grooters, who owed £11,000-plus in parking fines. The insurance salesman kept ahead of the law by using fake registration plates.

USA: David Green and Bernice Neff, who split up after stealing a kiss on the move and crashing their car, have been reunited 56 years later in a Columbia old folks' home.

Norway: A Bergen driver, baffled by an engine rattle, was shocked to discover a stowaway rat. It was freed by a mechanic in thick gloves.

America: Two New York police officers who sat in their vehicle waiting for a known car thief to show up got a bit of a shock - when the 23-year-old crook broke into the back of their patrol van.

Australia: A motorist in Sydney scared rail commuters when she mistook a subway entrance for an underground car park. She drove past the ticket office and down some stairs looking for a spot to park before being halted.

Italy: Turin cops chased a car after a woman reported seeing a body in the boot as it drove away. However, the 'corpse' was actually a young mechanic trying to find the source of a noisy rattle.

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China: Hong Kong suicide jumper Lee Chan-Fen landed on a car, and is now refusing to pay the £2,800 repair bill. She says she's not liable, as the car was parked illegally.

Switzerland: A Lenk resident got his stolen car back when thieves left an answerphone message telling him it was 400 yards from his home.

Australia: Vicar James Canning from Sydney held a special service at his church in praise of classic cars. "The church was packed," he said.

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USA: Hundreds of Oklahoma motorists fell victim to conmen selling 'God's Insurance'. When the policies arrived, they were copied passages from the Bible.

France: An Orleans cop was disciplined after being reported by a German tourist who saw him throw a food wrapper from his patrol car.

Holland: Rita Kief from Amsterdam was perplexed by her car's roasting smell, until she found a pound of nuts left under the bonnet by mice.

Article from: Auto Express