A CAR came perilously close to dropping into Poole Quay after an apparent manoeuvre went wrong.

At around 6.30am on Saturday, April 29, boat captain Malcolm Nightingale was readying his vessel for a day of fishing when he saw the car hanging over the edge of Fisherman’s Dock, just opposite Poole Quay Hotel.

According to Malcolm, the vehicle seemed to have been abandoned and police soon arrived on the scene.

He told the Echo: “I run a fishing charter boat taking people out fishing and sometimes you see cars on the dock dropping people off – you don’t usually see them hanging over the edge.

“It was certainly a weird one. I’m not sure how it happened but it could have been dangerous to boats as a lot of them unload in that area, so if the car had continued backwards and there was someone below it could have been bad.

“I’ve seen similar things on the Sandbanks slipway, but not on the Quay.”

Once police had secured the scene, a tow truck arrived and promptly recovered the vehicle. Malcolm, who runs Chopsea Charters Poole, said the car was gone by 7am.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “We received a report at 5.05am on Saturday, April 29, of a car that was partly hanging over the quay at Fisherman’s Dock in Poole.

“Officers attended and recovery was arranged. No further action was required.”