Runaway caravan filmed rolling wrong way down Devon road in 'recovery gone wrong'

A man was seen chasing after the vehicle

We have more newsletters

A runaway caravan was seen rolling the wrong way down a major Devon road this afternoon (May 14) in what has been described as "a recovery that went wrong". A man was seen chasing after the vehicle as it hurtled towards a parked police car.

Just after midday today dashcam footage captured the moment the caravan rolled down Telegraph Hill, halfway on the grass verge, on the A380 towards South Devon. It appears that it had been being towed by a vehicle that was stopped on the inside lane as part of a recovery operation, as a police car and recovery vehicle are seen at the scene.

Dave Barter, who was driving past at the time and caught the amusing saga on his dashcam, says that he felt "lucky" to have chosen the outside lane. He says he saw a man, appearing to be a police officer or recovery worker, chasing after the caravan before it hit the armco barrier. The front is facing the opposite direction to the hitch on the only vehicle it could have come from, a car looking to be about to be loaded onto a recovery truck.

As the vehicle rolled towards the parked police car, Dave says he spotted an officer jumping out of its way. It's not known if it was successfully stopped before hitting anything.

Dave said: "It looked to me like a recovery that went wrong. I could see a man chasing after the caravan shortly before it hit the armco. The police officer had to jump out of its way.

"I felt lucky that I’d chosen the far right lane and was worried for drivers further down the hill. I could not see what happened behind me as to be safe it was important to drive on away from the scene."

DevonLive has contacted Devon and Cornwall Police who say they will be able to provide further information tomorrow.