It was on this day in 2004 when astonishing news emerged from Italy that a drunken police officer had been arrested for driving 20 miles on the wrong side of a motorway.

Amazingly, nobody was hurt in the terrifying episode which occurred when a 23-year-old officer - never publicly named by the authorities - strayed onto the wrong intersection of the Autostrada de Sole between Florence and Rome - one of Italy’s busiest roads.

After they were inundated by calls from alarmed motorists, Italian traffic police were only able to stop the drunk driver by blocking the road with sandbags, causing him to suffer slight injuries in the ensuing collision.

The apologetic officer later admitted he had been drinking due to issues with his ‘love life’ but, bizarrely, claimed he never thought to stop because he assumed everyone else was travelling the wrong way!

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