An 81-year-old man ended up in Germany by accident after trying to get from Newcastle to Rome.
The ‘pilgrim’ OAP was on a mission to see the Pope, and decided to make his way there by car.
He was surprised when his navigation system told him he had arrived, despite no signs of any of the famous buildings or architecture.
The man, who hasn’t been named, parked up but didn’t put the handbrake of his Jaguar on properly.
His car rolled backwards, and in a stunning display of irony, rolled backwards and hit a sign saying ‘Rom’ – the small town in North Rhine Westphalia he had mistakenly plugged into the Sat Nav.
Police said that the car had come to a halt after hitting the sign but did not appear to be seriously damaged, although an ambulance was called to check on the pensioner.
Police spokesman Monika Treutler said: ‘The man was on a pilgrimage. He was on his way to Rome, where he was hoping to visit the Pope.’
The man, who lives in the UK and is originally Italian, might have been confused by the fact that Rome is written Roma in Italian and Rom in German.
