A gullible driver who ended up perched on the edge of a 100ft drop after putting too much faith in his sat-nav has been fined in court.
Robert Jones, 43, was found guilty of driving without due care and attention, after he followed his Tom Tom's directions along a bridleway in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, in March.
He is believed to be the first person to have been convicted for sticking "slavishly" to an inappropriate route marked out by a sat-nav device.
Jones, who is a professional car delivery driver, was heading home in the £30,000 BMW 5 series after seeing friends when he took his unfortunate detour.
Calderdale Magistrates Court heard from Jones, who is a diabetic, that he had decided to follow the instructions to the letter as he had only 7 miles of diesel left in the tank, and had neither insulin nor a working mobile phone.
Although the narrow lane started out covered in tarmac, this petered out into an unpaved track.
Soon the car became stuck on three wheels, before ultimately becoming wedged against a fence on the edge of a sheer drop.
And despite shelling out £1,000 for the nine-hour recovery operation, Jones remained unbowed.
"I might have been an idiot by taking the wrong road or by carrying on, but I haven't driven without due care and attention," he told magistrates.
He was fined £370, along with £500 costs, and given six penalty points.
